Oyogu 泳ぐ
by PikaPikaSakura33
Summary: When you're part mythical creature and part shinobi, the secrets you hide more than double. Yet when times become turbulent, Sakura finds herself trusting in a blank-faced, stoic ANBU captain. Non-Mass/AU. ItaSaku. Strong Sakura.
1. Memories

Title: Oyogu

Summary: "You are a part of the ocean's secrets Sakura..." When you're part mythical creature and part shinobi, the secrets you hide more than double. Yet when times become turbulent, Sakura finds herself trusting in a blank-faced, stoic ANBU captain every significant step of the way, much to her team's consternation.

Rating: T

Pairing: ItaSaku

 **Just so you know this is being re-written. If you are reading this, this is the latest update and this is a new chapter of the old one if that makes sense so you should definitely read it.**

* * *

 _A long time ago, two mermaids fell in love. Beautiful, naive things pure of heart and mind. Love between them sprung forth in hidden moments tinged with forbiddance, making their time together all the sweeter. Between them, a child was born, a product of their mind and heart. She was new in coloring, a sign of changing tides._

 _"But where most saw love and purity, the great sea god saw abnormality, abomination; the sullying of a lineage old as time. In poisonous anger, he cast the unformed spirit of the child, not yet a body, into the depths of Umarekawari. Too late, she was sucked into the wheel of reincarnation and could not be recalled. The sea god's toxic actions tainted his soul and he cloistered himself away, as his sullied soul reflected upon wilting life within the sea. He hoped that by meditating and purifying himself, the enchantment of the sea would return, as would the spirit child."_

 _"_ Yet eternity passed and the child was nowhere to be found, the sea and it's inhabitants never heard her call. Her soul never quite finding a body. As mortals filled this earth with nonsense like reality and practicality, the truth of myth and legend have long since faded away. Humans..." she flourished her hands, "had taken over."

"One by one… these sea dwellers were certain the unique little one had been tainted by too much human contact and her spirit could never return, and so they disappeared. Content to live in their spiritual world, or fade away into nature."

The woman's little audience stared in rapture until, realizing she had paused, demanded, "A-ka-ge-san! Tell it to the end! What happens next!?"

Chuckling, the red haired woman continued, "But one day… if that spirit finds its way and is born into a body pure of heart and mind, fate will lead her to the sea."

Each time the young lady came for a visit, she would tell little Sakura the same story and it would sound as vivid as her red hair. The oba-sama peeked into the dusty room from the corner. The woman indulged the pinkette often, bringing a small treat and a postcard of a watery feature each time. The photo however, despite the ooh's and aah's it elicited from the young girl, were always used to enforce a lesson.

She crouched down to Sakura's height and held the photo in front of the girl. "What do you see Sakura-chan?"

And like clockwork Sakura would reply, "Movement."

"Because?"

"Because it's always moving even though it looks like it's not moving."

"And?"

And this one always stumped Sakura. The little girl would cock her head to the side, pondering what she possibly could have missed.

"The darker the water..."

She would perk up, remembering the rest of the sentence,"The deeper it is!".

* * *

With a jolt, Sakura woke up, spitting matted pink hair out of her mouth and coughing. She dreamed of Akage-san all the time, but lately each time she awoke the memories seemed to float away. Perhaps because she was growing older. The sun was out, it's golden rays shining through the shutters in her room.

The adolescent girl pushed herself off her bed, and turned to place her feet on the floor. She padded slowly, even-footed toward an old, wooden dresser. On it was a wash basin and wash cloth. Like routine, she picked up the metal basin, tip-toed quietly across wooden floorboards so as not to disturb the peace —she was good at it now, they didn't creak much now— filled her basin with water from the kitchen sink and walked back just as quietly, accompanied only by sloshing sounds.

The orphanage was old, perhaps a decade or two younger than the oba-sama that ran it. Indeed the floorboards creaked as the the woman well into her seventies rose later each day. It was almost parallel, as wrinkles and age spots wore into the woman's face, the place had slowly fallen into disrepair. The woman couldn't keep up with the duties of a caretaker and the place was so out of the way, hidden in the most desolate and poor part of Konoha that the government had reduced their funds year after year. As children were adopted or switched to different, newer orphanages, Sakura had been left behind with the oba-sama.

She knew from the whispers and looks that she was different from the orphans she lived with. No family name, just a tacked on Haruno she had been given. No background, she eavesdropped often enough to understand she was an anomaly. But perhaps that was why they got along so well now. Both were products of abandonment.

The room she stayed in was small without a bathroom and a single, small window. A single lightbulb in the ceiling was all she had at night. As she rested the basin onto the wooden top, she eyed herself in the mirror of the dresser. Despite her attempts to keep it clean, dust and fingerprints never quite went away, so she did her best with the smudges and dirt. With her eyes, she traced the image of her. Brushing aside the familiar tiny frame, head too big for her body, and a skinny un-developing frame. Unlike Ino, her best friend who had been blessed with the prettiest face in the academy and development in her body all the pre-teen girls envied, she had pink hair and green eyes. As Akage-san often told her when she found herself murmuring to herself, she was exotic. That's why the girls bullied her, taunted her. It gave her a strange sense of pride and resentment.

She finger-combed her hair down to her waist, brushing out knots and patted the strands down with water, enjoying how shiny her strands were. With the washcloth, she cleaned her face and body, dipping it repeatedly into the water until she felt clean. She tied bandages around her chest, tugged on a pair of drawstring pants and as she pulled a sleeveless shirt over her head, she realized something was missing. After she tied on her shoes, a quick survey of the room led her to a small, pretty pendant Akage-san had given her on the last day she visited. It was a pale, translucent white and attached to a delicate, near invisible chain and glistened in the sun.

A cowry shell. She could barely pronounce the word as a little girl but the then four year old Sakura adored it. _Calpurnus Verrucosus…_ It seemed constantly fresh, if that was the word for it. Always as if it was just plucked from the ocean, salt and sea still clinging to it. She kept it around her neck regularly, and she hoped she wouldn't have to take it off when she battled in the near future.

It was her last day at the academy. In the world of shinobi, she was officially an adult. As she left the front of the orphanage, she couldn't help but wonder what would become of the place if she earned enough to leave. . It was majestic in a traditional sort of way, even in its disrepair. It was made of quality wood, the kind you found back in those days in a simple, traditional structure, the back of which led up a trail and into mountains few explored and fewer recommended. She personally had found her way there once or twice, but she couldn't quite remember how to mini her, back then, had found her way back.

* * *

Ino and some girl were squabbling over who had the right to sit next to Uchiha Sasuke. Ino was the resident gorgeous girl with a cool personality, she hailed from a well known clan and could any girl top her shimmering blonde hair? On the one hand, Kaneko or something had been in the Uchiha fan-club for a very long time, longer than Ino although, Ino was basically president at this point.

To Sakura, Ino was the kind of kunoichi she wanted to be. She was confident, straightforward, yet popular. She was relatively well-rounded, skilled, knowledgeable on flowers and everything beauty, and thrived in most social situations. Sakura didn't know how they stayed friends, what with their ridiculously different personalities, but she was grateful to Ino for taking her under her wing. Without her, she would never have built the small amount of confidence she had now.

The Uchiha boy Ino currently fawned over was without a doubt attractive, even Sakura had to admit. He and Ino looked great together, and because Ino was also her best friend, she refused to entertain any thoughts of her ever liking him. Sure, he was a very pretty boy, but all the Uchiha's she had seen were pretty. The moment her blonde girlfriend spotted her, she gestured to the seat Sasuke was seated in. Quickly understanding, Sakura plopped her butt into the chair next to Sasuke's, and waited for Ino to finish her 'fight'.

Too late, she realized Naruto had jumped onto Sasuke's table, and maybe in an act of god fell onto the poor dark-haired boy's lips. Oh kami, Naruto was going to be finished by the fangirls! She didn't make it in time to swap seats with Ino before Iruka-sensei entered the classroom, saving Naruto from what seemed to be inevitable pain, but so long as she sat by Sasuke, Ino didn't really care and Sasuke tolerated her since she wasn't a fangirl.

She nudged the blonde boy when he sat next to her.

"Naruto… now you've gone and given Sasuke-san your first kiss."

He groan-whispered, "Maaa Sakura-chan you don't have to say it like that."

She giggled, "It's okay, I'm sure you were his first too. The girls seem a bit mad though."

Naruto looked around and buried his head in his hands, "Crap..."

They ended up being placed in the same team, much to Ino's envy, but knowing her she would simply take advantage of Sakura's proximity to Sasuke.

* * *

I hope you guys enjoy it. My writing seems to have improved so let me know what you think. Criticism and reviews are always appreciated :)


	2. Hallucination

Title: Oyogu

Summary: "You are a part of the ocean's secrets Sakura..." When you're part mythical creature and part shinobi, the secrets you hide more than double. Yet when times become turbulent, Sakura finds herself trusting in a blank-faced, stoic ANBU captain every significant step of the way, much to her team's consternation.

Rating: T

Pairing: ItaSaku

* * *

The day was warm, the moisture in the air chased away by the sun. Sakura was mostly lost, walking around and looking for her two teammates. What kind of survival test was this? She'd expected maybe some sparring, or basic field testing… what was provoking the most reckless genin in all of history, and then telling them to attack their jounin sensei with killing intent meant to accomplish?

~" _Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu"~_

*Rustle*

Sakura spun around. Nothing.

 **Above idiot ABOVE!**

Leaves whirred to life around her, gaining height and speed until she was certain they would take her with them.

As quickly as the wind came, it left. The leaves settled onto the ground and were forgotten.

From behind, she heard Sasuke's hoarse voice.

"Sakura.."

Where was he though? There was nothing around her!

Slowly, images began forming. First were choppy shadows, translucent sheets haphazardly forming, covering the forest floor. The natural light that shone over her darkened until all that remained were pinpricks of light. Strangely, the sounds around her were muffled, no sign of wind or birds chirping. Finally, feet came into sight. Plodding along the leafy floor, the crunch of leaves not in time with the foot falls. A torso formed, legs came into existence, and finally Sasuke's head. It would have been a gory image had she not seen it come to life. Yet even as the picture walked toward her, she found it too similar to a messy arts and crafts project to really be concerned. Evidently someone forgot his arms!

It didn't occur to her that she was caught in a genjutsu until he collapsed, begging for her help, and Ino appeared sobbing next to him, screaming at her, that anxiety clouded her senses. Panic suddenly pervaded her judgement and Sasuke was no longer an ill-made picture. Rather she was suddenly right in front of him, close enough to smell the blood and hear his harsh breaths. Ino's high-pitched, edged, accusations rang in her ears and she covered them, trying to drown out the situation.

As quickly as it came however, her ears tingled and suddenly, she just knew. Her mind cleared and Ino's voice died down.

Genjutsu. She was in a genjutsu.

'Inner."

 **What.**

'I think we're caught in a genjutsu.'

 **No shit. Break the damn thing, what are you waiting for?**

'Um… okay.. what do I do.'

 **Shouldn't you know this?**

'I do! I just want to make sure I do it right!'

 **…**

 **'** Inner?'

Sighing in frustration, she closed her eyes and thought back to her earlier classes.

 _Genjutsu.. genjutsu is created by chakra and targets one or all of the five senses by attacking the cerebral nervous system. It requires precise chakra control and can affect the chakra flow of another._

Upon realizing what was happening, she noticed the thin layer of chakra overlapped onto hers.

 _To break a genjutsu, disrupt your own flow or have someone project chakra onto you._

That sounded like a lot of work.

Well people usually weren't aware they were even in a genjutsu, it was supposed to affect them like a dream would. Could she somehow just leave the illusion?

'Inner… can't you break the genjutsu?'

 **No. Do it yourself.**

'Inner…'

An image of the black and white Sakura popped up in her mind's eye of her waving, stretching, and walking into nothing.

She wasn't entirely sure how to break the genjutsu. She knew enough to disrupt the flow of her chakra, like forcibly inserting a dam into rushing water, but she felt hesitant.

Closing her eyes, she searched for where the genjutsu started and where it ended. The chakra had it's own signature. So this was what their new sensei's chakra felt like. All around her was chakra in masses upon masses, tightly wrapped and encircling her. It had to be the chakra that had overlapped onto hers. With her eyes closed, she could almost see each strand, thin and concentrated around her physical body, specifically her eyes and ears.

The ends seemed to be cut off, holding itself together and slowly dispersing. Probably why Genjutsu eventually wore off. It made sense, the chakra was projected onto her sight and hearing. She tried forming chakra and found herself 'face-to-face' with a version of herself, clearly not inner. The other Sakura simply poked the chakra, and shooed it aside. Around her now were lighter strands of chakra, dispersing over an area of land. The sky was bright again and she could feel the wind on her cheeks.

Everything was normal again, except for the chakra collected over an area. She walked out of the chakra around her, and immediately felt a sensation wash over her body. She felt oddly light.

 **You know… I reckon we can see illusions now**

'Now you come out.'

Sakura rolled her eyes and walked in the direction she meant to initially.

* * *

Sometimes in life, strange things happen that hurt you, but are good for you.

Like right now.

Her stomach was going to cramp and be sore like there was no tomorrow, but it was so worth it.

Kami-sama this was so funny. If she died now it wouldn't be a waste.

She wheezed a little, and made a weird noise between a cough and a laugh before finally stopping.

The object of her laughter cleared his throat.

"A-hem."

Sasuke-kun was up to his neck, literally, in dirt. His face smudged with a little brown and he was almost pouting. There was even soil in his hair.

Giggling, she leaned forward. "I'm sorry, let me help you."

She snorted a bit, but got her act together when he turned his narrow-eyed stare at her. Slowly at first, she crumbled the earth around his neck, her delicate fingers pushing and digging at the soil.

"Just try to bear with me okay Sasuke-kun? I know this is uncomfortable."

He didn't say anything, but the backs of her hands were smooth and warm against his skin.

She worked her palms furiously, crushing the harder packs of soil around his chest, not noticing the constant grazing against him, or the pink on his cheeks. Once she reached past his waist, he startled at the fingertips fluttering against the skin exposed too close to his hips and pushed her away, tugging the bunched shirt downward as he stood up.

"I-I've got it!"

She felt slightly miffed, but nodded and got up.

* * *

Hatake Kakashi, she decided, was an awful fellow. Although he was clearly an amazing shinobi, he terrified the absolute hell out of her and definitely had something against them which was probably Naruto's fault. After all, how many D-ranks had he put them on by now?

Finding the infamous stupid cat every other week, walking dogs larger than them that dragged them to every corner of Konoha… painting fences and weeding gardens belonging to irate old residents… The list went on and on.

Even right now, she eyed the cat being forcibly snuggled into Madame Shimiji's breasts.

'You deserve it you little devil!'

By some odd coincidence, the feline evil stopped struggling and turned to her at the same moment. It 'mrow-ed', maintaining eye contact while settling down somewhat.

Weird. But she brushed it aside, she didn't like cats anyway.

* * *

Naruto's outbursts finally came in handy, securing them a C-Rank escort mission out of the village. He had whined and thrown a little tantrum, and the Hokage had given in, knowing their close relationship.

The mission however, got off to a terrible start.

They had barely walked ten feet before two ninja from Kirigakure emerged from a puddle and ambushed them.

The first glint of metal had been her only clue to what was happening until she saw Kakashi-sensei wrapped by the razor sharp chains. In a burst of chakra strands, his form disappeared into a log. She saw, as if in slow motion, translucent chakra weaving incredibly quickly across the top of a log and creating chunks of a translucent albeit torn apart Kakashi. The two rogue nin came at the three of them and Tazuna.

She trembled, kunai in hand and sweat beading at the base of her neck, but Sasuke-kun jumped in front of her, ready to attack.

The suddenness of her first battle abated as quickly as it came when Kakashi-sensei appeared out of thin air and effortlessly defeated the two mercenaries.

There was some conflict but their general agreement led them onto a boat. A small, rickety, wooden boat that was too small for all five of them and the fisherman. It was not sturdy in the least, and coursing through the murky waters and thick mist had Sakura very apprehensive. She had never swum beyond the dips in a lake and the distinct contrast between the force of nature and their little boat was too obvious for her to ignore.

Despite her fears, the salty spray against her skin and the cold mist felt refreshing. She was more than tempted to dip her fingers beneath the surface of the water.

" _The darker the water…"_

"It must be really deep then…" She murmured. It seemed no one heard her mutter. The gentle crashing of water against the boat seemed to still as they reached their destination. Yet just as their path seemed smooth, a massive sword swung in an arc above them and a built, intimidating man blocked their way.

The man was exuded raw power in such a way she had never encountered. It rolled off him in massive waves, choppy and roiling into her being. Whether it was killing intent or an after effect of the pure size of his chakra, it stunned her into mere shakiness. Her breath came in short, quick puffs and her heart pounded in her ears. She barely registered their exchange until the mist settled around them.

She could see chakra strands belonging to Kakashi-sensei surrounding her, calming her, but another presence had filtered through the mist. Chakra strands that smelled a little different, had a different aura, twisted slightly as it passed throughout them all. She saw it penetrate her solar plexus, but it didn't seem to register that foreign chakra was in her body. Instead, her five senses went into overdrive, shaking her nerves into a frenzy.

She could feel his thirst for blood.

She could smell the murder on him.

"Eight points!" His voice boomed. Everywhere and nowhere. Circled the entire area yet behind her ears, and in her ears, and beside her all at once. She dared not move.

'W-what?'

"Larynx."

"Spine."

"Liver."

"Lungs."

"Jugular."

"Subclavian Artery."

"Kidneys."

"Heart."

"Now… which will be my attack points?" He drawled, dragging his words slowly and inflecting at 'be'. His voice promised pain.

She didn't like pain.

The cumulative fear and tension threw her back into a memory. Racing past images at lightning speed and halting at one with Akage-san.

 _The woman's red hair glinted in the sunlight and her skin shone. Her deep blue eyes were all Sakura could concentrate on._

 _"Akage-san.. I don't want to I don't want to…"_

 _"Come on my precious… Look you won't be hurt…" She reached into the sandy base and pulled a pebble out of the water._

 _"Look at how round it is."_

 _"But.. But…"_

 _She was scared! The water was so pretty but what if she drowned! She'd never been out here, out with so much green and blue. And she could barely see what she was doing and something kept shining in her eye!_

 _"Come now Sakura… close your eyes for me. Yes.. just close them."_

 _Cool palms touched her skin._

 _"Do you feel my hands Sakura?"_

 _She could, and nodded._

 _"Sometimes when you're scared, you have to concentrate. You have to know that it's scary, but that it's also not scary."_

 _"You're scared of water. But why? You don't know. Is it because it could be deep? Is it because it could be cold?"_

 _She dripped water onto the pinkette's legs._

 _"It feels nice doesn't it?"_

 _"You can feel why you're scared my dear, so grab it. Take it. Wrap it in your hands and hold it tight. Don't let it hold you. If you know it's there, you can control it."_

 _Slowly, with her eyes still closed, she stepped forward. One foot… and then another finally in the water._

.

.

.

She hated pain.

But scrapes and bruises always healed.

Sakura felt her fear melt away into something more manageable, a warning so it seemed. She slowed her breathing, and felt her heart calm. She could touch the strands of chakra around her, tickling her and sliding around her senses. With minimal effort, she saw herself, much like an out of body experience, tug the twisted chakra out of her body. Freeing her from the intense focus on Zabuza's intimidating aura.

Instantly, the fear in her vanished. It had merely been an illusion and Zabuza's chakra in her system was suddenly glaringly obvious. He was manipulating their fears. Yes he could kill her, but in truth, she was also too weak for him to enjoy killing her. She was not the opponent he desired and would be ignored if anything.

Just as she gained control of herself, the battle ended. Zabuza was killed by a hunter-nin from Kirigakure with a senbon of all things. Meanwhile, sensei fainted from Sharingan overuse.

* * *

Sakura pouted as she helped Tsunami-san bring in groceries. It wasn't fair. Kakashi-sensei wasn't fair at all. She might not be as fast or strong as the boys, but she had chakra all the same. She had the little scars and scrapes and calluses all over her body, she didn't understand why they had to look at her that way.

Her fingers rubbed a light scar on the side of her neck, it was very old and she didn't know how old she was when she acquired this scar, but it was comforting in a weird way.

Kakashi-sensei had finally decided to train them. He showed them how he channeled his chakra to his feet and had them do the same before walking up trees, defying the laws of gravity.

She had taken to it perfectly. It made plenty of sense to her and within a few minutes, her chakra had bent to her will. It flowed through her and the strands held past her feet with almost no effort. While she found some of her chakra escaping her already small reserves, she halted its dispersal when she, with some effort, forced it to cycle through her system again. After all, chakra out of her body was no different from within her body.

It was with this mindset that she quickly found herself at the top of the tree. Despite the constant force of gravity pulling at her, daring her to relax for a moment, each step pushed her insecurities away and gave her more confidence. She could feel the tree responding to her, her chakra reading it and feeding information on the tree to her; it's bark type, how sturdy it's trunk was, how much chakra she needed to stay standing. The most amazing thing was how her chakra seemed to intertwine with the natural energy within the tree, energy she had been unaware of but unsurprised to discover. It seemed to tell her chakra how much it needed to augment the relationship between chakra and tree for her to stay standing horizontally. It seemed that, while fire jutsu was Sasuke's specialty as raw power was Naruto's, chakra control and sensitivity was her strongest suit.

She felt confident for the first time, she finally excelled at something shinobi related that wasn't just about how hard she studied. Pride surged through her and maybe, just maybe a tiny voice in the back of her head said, she could be as strong as her teammates, as cool as Ino. Her teammates, her first teammates, would be proud to work alongside her.

But then Kakashi-sensei turned them against her. A few words from him had their stares of bewilderment changed to glares and sulks, taking away the rush of joy that had flooded through her.

She huffed and walked away, out of the front door of the house. They wouldn't notice if she wasn't there. Kakashi-sensei wasn't training her and she wasn't in the mood to sit around doing nothing.

* * *

The sun had begun dipping. Red and oranges took up most of the sky while yellow streaked through large clouds. The air was cool and much of the moisture had left for the night. Sakura felt a wave of nostalgia set in. The salty smell and high tide were comforting, reminiscent of fond memories with Akage-san spent in shallow pools or lakes. While a body of water as large as an ocean was new to her, it's watery feature maintained some semblance of familiarity in this strange new place.

A little mist hovered over the water, but she doubted the probably alive Zabuza was anywhere near them.

" _Mmm.."_

 _"Hahaha… Ahhh~"_

She giggled to herself and sunk into the damp wood of the pier, enjoying the sounds of nature undisturbed by chatter.

"Hmm~…hmm..hmm…da….dum… dum…."~

"Dum~… da-dum…da-dum-da-dum-da-dum…"~

Without a particular tune in mind, she hummed to herself.

The tune resonated through her and out of her mouth. Colliding with the air and melting into soft, melodic sounds. She felt a light and carefree feeling overtake her and basked in the sight of the ocean around her. She continued to hum, feeling utterly relaxed as she lay down. The tide had come in and large waves crashed against the dock.

The ocean was breathtaking.

The pleasure in the moment soothed her ruffled spirit.

'I'll go back when it's darker. They won't mind.'

The sound of the ocean was accompanied by chattering voices. Blurred tones without any real words. The longer she stayed by the ocean and the harder she concentrated, the louder they got.

Feminine voices whispered and laughed and giggled.

One laugh in particular was warm and familiar. Startled, she opened her eyes and turned to her side. The mist above the sea had disappeared completely. For a split second, she saw a figure on the water, or in the water. But she was gone.

"Ah-"

She tried to call out for whoever it was that she needed to call… but words would not form and her throat contorted anything she tried to say.

'Genjutsu?'

But it wasn't. There was no lingering chakra nor strands hanging around her. Energy roiled in the sea and all she could feel was its sheer power, but chakra and energy were different.

What had she seen? Had she been hallucinating?

 **It was real.**

Her inner voice was quiet. She had seen it too.

* * *

I hope you guys are enjoying this! I'm finally on holidays so look forward to slightly more frequent updates, but I have to work too so not thaaaat frequent :)


	3. Entranced

Title: Oyogu

Summary: Once it's dark and you feel the water still, swim a little more until you can't swim anymore. She's the child of a prophecy lost for centuries, reborn again and again until she finally returns. Sakura falls into the sea, and while she can suddenly sing like nobody's business, she finds herself with a burden and a curse so old, it could unravel who she is.

Rating: T

Pairing: ItaSaku

* * *

She hurt. A lot.

Her back was aching, her sides were screaming and she swore a knife in her gut would hurt less.

Inner's groans of pain in her head meant she had a stinging migraine. Did everyone go through this!?

 **This is such a bloody mess! Pun intended!**

Sakura sighed. Thank goodness no one was awake yet she thought, as she took a small bag with her into the bathroom. She was always prepared.

'But how do I use this again?'

She stared at the package.

 **Is that supposed to-**

'-go up?"

 **No. No. Absolutely no. No. Outer is you so much as bring that thing near us I will-**

Inner had been quiet for the twenty minutes, refusing to speak to her as she packed her things away. She shut the room door carefully behind her and walked out to the dining room.

Breakfast was rice and a few dishes. Sasuke and Naruto were half-way finished.

Kakashi-sensei didn't say anything, but she had a feeling he knew exactly what was going on.

Her ears reddened and she shuddered.

Creepy.

They waited for her to finish and walked to the bridge with Tazuna. The bridge was quite the masterpiece. Large wooden and steal beams made up a solid base. She admired Tazuna. He was a brave men, as were all the men here risking their lives to support him and finish the bridge.

In spite of her admiration, she felt annoyed. Guarding Tazuna-san wasn't labor intensive but she would much rather train. She was useless here anyways. If Zabuza appeared she would be ribbons in seconds. She couldn't even help around and carry raw materials because she was so weak.

She wished sensei would pay attention to her. Sighing, there was only one way she could go about this and that would be to ask him.

Or perhaps not when she noticed him waving her over.

He usually didn't let them leave their posts.

"Sakura-chan, since you did so well on the tree-climbing exercise, I thought I'd teach you something new."

He didn't say anything else and kept walking for a while so she followed him down a support beam. She would have continued except he stepped onto water and she wasn't too keen on that.

"This is like the tree-climbing exercise, the key to this is to understand that you have to constantly change the output of your chakra."

It was windy, and the water was moving. The salt was stinging her eyes and she was scared.

"It's only water Sakura, and I'm sure you can swim." He said with an eye crinkle.

She was still scared. It was a huge body of water. Being on a boat was one thing, standing directly on water without any support was completely different.

She took a deep breath and tried to draw some motivation from Kakashi-sensei's stare. She could do this.

She was never going to learn if she didn't try.

Fuck fear.

She flooded her foot with chakra and placed it flat on the water. Immediately, a myriad of information was fed back to her. The energy burst forth, pushing against her and latching onto her chakra. She felt the water particles constantly move, leaving gaps and worked to fill those gaps with chakra.

Sensei was right. She would have to change her output constantly, and would lose chakra more quickly.

She prodded the water harder. Once satisfied with how solid she felt, she stepped off the structure and onto the surface.

The motion of the water made her almost lose her balance, but beyond that, she could do this.

"Walk out about a mile. If you fall through, swim back here and start again. Once you feel that over half of your chakra is gone, you can slow down but keep walking."

There was something surreal about walking on water. It was the kind of thing that she only read about in books. Sure she knew shinobi could do amazing things with their chakra, but it was just one of those things.

As they walked further out, the waves became choppier. Swishing harder until she was struggling to even walk. She grew tired quickly, not expecting how long this would take, or how draining it would be on her. She wasn't used to using this much chakra in one sitting.

The water was much colder now, the gaps changed more quickly and the texture against her chakra was slightly different.

They were over very deep water. In the distance, she noted shallow cliffs and rocks peeking over the tide. The two of them had just turned when in her fatigue, she lost concentration and fell right through.

She dropped quickly, too quickly for her height and weight. The cold bit into her and coiled around her neck as she forgot she couldn't breath water. Bubbles floated out of her open mouth and her eyes closed.

Cold. Cold.

She didn't flail, and as she sunk her eyes opened instinctually. She stared out around her. The foreign feeling of water was no longer there, and the blue made the cold disappear.

Her brain stopped registering what her body felt, and any fear that may have been creeping up had vanished.

There was so much blue. Dark blue that never ended, it only continued until it was murky and she saw nothing. She saw navy beneath her, gradient and morphing into lighter shades, until she could see the sand and mud floor the beams were on. The floor dropped steeply as it reached her, past her and into the navy.

She was intrigued, the choppy waves above her forgotten.

As a little girl, she had always been different. Her pink hair and green eyes made her a target for bullying. Her social skills never quite developed and in the academy, even with her friends, she was constantly out of place. Never quite belonging.

While Sasuke and Naruto bonded instantaneously, she lagged behind.

But she was comfortable here. The sea embraced her, its cold fingers were refreshing and her lungs were quiet.

Swimming agreed with her.

In a single stroke, she propelled herself further down into the darker water, delighted when the murkiness cleared and she could see the sea floor in its sandy glory. There was hardly any plant life, just native seaweed, a few sea slugs and fish, and a lot of sediment.

The sand stopped at an edge, dropping into black mossy rocks that jutted out at odd angles. She hadn't noticed at first because of how dark the water was, but there was a massive gash in the ocean floor. The large rocks lined the huge gash almost beyond her sight, and after a certain depth, the waters blackened into nothingness.

In a moment of complete impulse, she dove in. Her mind completely gone. All she could hear was the sound of the ocean, it's quietness that really was not quiet. The moving crane somewhere behind her, bubbles from fish by her ear, and the quiet splash from above.

As she swam deeper, the water grew denser. The pressure thickened on her arms and legs, but she paid it no mind and swum harder. The darkening water filled her senses. Taste, touch, sight, sound, and sense. She felt it all.

The ocean sang. The typhoon down south or the turbulence that brought ships down to the floor, it sang. It sang in the sounds of animals and Sakura never felt more alive, or at home.

She landed on a massive piece of rock, jutting out just above the darkest shade of blue, above pure black. How could there be so many shades of blue?

 _Ahhhhh…..ahhhhhhhhh~_

 _Da da… da… da-dum… da-dum…~_

The faintest melody touched her ears, and she was surrounded by the sounds she heard just the day before. It went beyond the dark water. She knew it.

She took a moment to take in her surroundings. The water around her was cold, very cold. But she didn't care. The fish were colorful and glowed just a touch. The plant life here was beautiful, exotic, and wondrous. While she felt a touch of grime in the upper parts of the ocean, so far up… the water here was clean.

Something reminded her of the upper parts of the ocean, but she wasn't sure what. She saw light and she swore she saw a person, but she couldn't really remember.

Her arms reached out to touch the rock, the mossy beds, and she began to twirl again. Faster and faster in the still water. She caught sight of the black, calling her name.

Who was she to deny mother nature?

With a grin, she spun to the left and dove in again.

Or rather she would have if an arm had not grabbed her by the waist and hauled her upwards.

Something in her screamed.

 _No. NO. NO NO._

It screamed until it was just a cacophony of one voice, overlapping one another.

But she stayed numb. Confused. As if she had been hypnotized or in a trance. She suddenly couldn't understand. Why had she swum?

When she broke the surface, she gasped for air.

 _Wha… Wha- I… I…_

The air wouldn't fill her lungs and she began panicking.

The scar on her throat itched and burned. She tried to get back into the water, but she was held back.

As soon as her inability to breathe had come however, it left. Polluted air filled her lungs and she coughed.

 _Disgusting. I want to go back IN!_

Why had he pulled her out of the water… why?

Kakashi stared at the spluttering girl seated on a buoy. She should have been gulping air down like her life depended on it, not rejecting or choking on it. In fact, she shouldn't even be alive.

He'd known the moment her chakra faltered and had seen her drop into the water, swallowed by the waves. She didn't react normally either. She hadn't flailed or floundered, or gasped or screamed. He hadn't planned on needing to fish her out, he had just been curious when she didn't try to swim back up. So he walked along the water and followed her as she swam. To his alarm, she had covered a ridiculous amount of distance in about five minutes, and had gone much deeper than was probably safe.

Seasoned shinobi couldn't hold their breath or swim that fast without the aid of chakra, and he had been monitoring hers. She wasn't using a jutsu nor had a kekkei genkai. Before he could think about this more however, he saw he swimming down a relatively small sinkhole, but was part of a much larger one on the outskirts of Water territory, connected by a very deep underground cave.

Did she have no self-preservation? With chakra enhancing his muscles and a creative water jutsu, he covered her depth, grabbed her, and pulled her out as carefully as possible in fear of the pressure surrounding her.

He sighed and ushered her back.

Maybe he would investigate the area, bounce some chakra around or send a clone in.

Elsewhere, far beyond the black, where bodies froze in the pressure, voices emerged. Chattering clearly. Water began moving from nothing, stirring and circling.

* * *

Sorry, I'm not the most consistent writer :D


	4. Sharks

Title: Oyogu

Summary: Once it's dark and you feel the water still, swim a little more until you can't swim anymore. She's the child of a prophecy lost for centuries, reborn again and again until she finally returns. Sakura falls into the sea, and while she can suddenly sing like nobody's business, she finds herself with a burden and a curse so old, it could unravel who she is.

Rating: T

Pairing: ItaSaku

* * *

Sakura groaned in disbelief when she raised her arms past her head in a stretch. Her limbs were beyond sore! Funny enough, she was full of energy, ready for a good run or a swim. Kakashi-sensei probably wouldn't agree to a swim after last night, but maybe they could train? She couldn't remember much from last night, only that Tsunami had sent her off for a hot bath and by the time sensei tried to interrogate her, he was little more than a blur.

As she navigated the disaster of a room she shared with her teammates, it occurred to her that Kakashi would probably want to ask her what happened. Most likely why in the hell she had gone swimming after falling into the ocean. Silently, she left the room and paused in the corridor for a moment. She didn't really know either. All she remembered was being very calm and content.

In the quiet morning, she was reminded of that feeling. The whole world paused and she could taste the salt on her tongue again, hear the waves breaking by the shoreline. It was as if she were on the pier, right by the salty spray. Even within the four walls, it seemed her heart was by the sea. That was pretty strange considering it had been her first time actually swimming in the sea.

Sighing, being a shinobi was so weird.

She headed to the bathroom for a quick rinse. Without bothering to run the hot water, she hopped under the cold water.

 _So refreshing…_

She patted her long hair dry with a towel, marvelling at how quickly the water was absorbed.

 _Man I need to ask Tsunami-san where she bought this… Even my ends are dry_

Now that she thought about it that was pretty amazing. The ends of her hair weren't dripping, just slightly damp. And soft. Sakura combed her hands through the rest of her hair, from root to tip, surprised at how silky smooth the strands were. She probably spent a good five minutes just petting her hair.

 _About time too…_

She and Ino had always competed when it came to their hair. Perhaps she was more silent about it since Ino really didn't have a clue Sakura eyed her hair critically on a regular basis, but it was the one thing she had over Ino. Her blonde best friend was beautiful, with the kind of beauty people saw first. Meanwhile, Sakura avoided vanity, going as far as dodging mirrors. She already knew she was different from the general Konoha population. Even after some time with Ino bringing her out of her shell, she still didn't have the confidence.

After all, she wasn't exactly pretty. Exotic was one thing, but she had noticed as other girls grew taller, she stayed short. As her classmates' bodies transformed and they began their start into womanhood, she stayed bony and unfeminine.

But now, as she eyed herself in the mirror, she realised her hair wasn't just soft. It was long, shiny, and drew her attention. In fact… she was certain it hadn't been this long when she left Konoha. It wasn't just her hair that was different either, but something about herself made her want to look at her reflection. Her skin was glowing, not a pimple in sight! She flexed an arm, and then the other whilst giggling.

Maybe this was what Ino meant by being appreciative of her body. Or perhaps Tsunami-san had an extraordinary mirror. Whatever the case, there was something about her that was different, and she liked it.

* * *

Kakashi was sitting on the sofa reading his smutty book when she came out, feigning nonchalance and ignoring him. Well that worked in his favour for now, he wasn't quite sure how to broach the subject with her. How do you ask someone why they didn't drown? It wasn't exactly polite. Not to mention right now, she was confusing him.

The moment she left the bathroom, the first thing that caught his eye was her hair. While Sakura was already enough of a target with her pink hair and red shirt, it seemed she'd upgraded herself to a neon light. The moment the sunlight hit her hair, it was as if she'd dunked her head in a vat of oil. The strands appeared slick and drew his attention like nobody's business. On top of that, she looked like she grew an inch over night. As she walked past him, hunched and awkward, he noted the sudden appearance of grace.

It seemed bumbling, heavy-footed Sakura turned into a dancer overnight.

And those odd but not impossible changes were the least of his problems.

In one of those rare but problematic occasions, the administration had fucked up and overlooked a student. It was understandable, Sakura was a relatively ordinary girl. Despite the oddness of her randomly appearing at an orphanage as an infant, she didn't exhibit any unusual signs. During her time at the academy, it was observed that while her aptitude for inferential knowledge and critical thinking were above average, they were balanced out with below average combat scores. While it was noted her chakra control was above the norm, she hadn't been specifically tested.

They really should have gone the extra mile. Based on this one trip she was obviously gifted, maybe not traditionally in spades of chakra or breadth of techniques like most clan kids, but it was there. Her chakra control was, without any training, probably at the 95th percentile. It was obvious with the way she took to tree-climbing so naturally and how she recycled chakra she emitted like it was nothing. A feat that usually took focused practice. She even willed chakra to her palms without any hand seals, simply commanding it as she dug Sasuke out during their survival training session.

Not to mention she was probably a genjutsu type, what with her side-stepping his and Zabuza's illusions. With some practice, he suspected her capable of some gnarly illusions, and all of this was without formal clan training.

He had originally planned to let her blossom on her own and focus on the Uchiha, it seemed he might not be able to any longer. He snapped the book shut purposefully loudly and noted that she stiffened. Good, she was expecting an interrogation.

* * *

"Sakura-chan, you are up early…"

She tensed immediately despite sensing the flux of chakra from him when he awoke. His voice was suspiciously at ease, almost teasing. His intentions were likely anything but.

"Ah.. ha.. I uh, I am ah-ha..ha," she lifted her arm planning on scratching her head, but halfway through she changed her mind. The result was an awkward arm raise.

His eye crinkled, "Rather surprising considering your activities yesterday, don't you think?"

Whew, he was getting right into it wasn't he?

"I uh… I… um.." **_DIVERT! DIVERT HIS ATTENTION! BRING SOMETHING ELSE UP! DON'T TELL HIM THE TRUTH!_**

"Hmm?"

"Well I think the training actually went rather well sensei," she said in a sad attempt at cheeriness.

"Is that so?"

She nodded, almost bouncing a little too hard playing the teacher's pet.

"And… you don't feel strange what **so** ever?" He asked her, voice inflecting just a little too sharply to be just concerned.

"N-no, sensei! My chakra feels just fine! I know it was depleted lots yesterday, but see," her chakra whirled to life above her palms, "it's not reacting strangely at all! Furthermore I feel just great! I feel like I could go for a super long run and train till—"

"That's not what I'm asking about Sakura…"

She could've kept going on in that fake happy voice honestly, and from the look on his face he knew that. Sakura gulped, he was going to ask her all about her split-second decision to swim last night and she had no idea what to tell him.

 _It made me happy._

 ** _Pfft why not tell him you met a friendly shark down there while you're at it._**

 _It's true!_

 ** _Yeah and if he believe's that he'll believe anything._**

 _Well what do I say then…_

She realised he was still expecting an answer and finally made eye contact with him.

"Then what are you asking sensei?"

Kakashi stared at her almost disbelievingly. Her head tilted to one side, green eyes big and innocent, as if he was being totally unreasonable.

Which he wasn't!

"Sakura, why did you swim past a drop off point."

"Well, you see, sensei… I—"

"And then try to dive into a sinkhole."

"Ah… so… you see sensei I've never been to an ocean before and the water was just so pretty you know and—" she took a deep breath, "there was all this coral and I swear I saw jellyfish and—"

 _FUCK FUCK FUCK WHAT DO I SAY!_

 ** _KEEP BULLSHITTING HIM!_**

 _HOW HE LOOKS SO MAD ALREADY INNER_

 ** _MENTION THE FUCKING SHARK YOU'VE GOT NOTHING TO LOSE!_**

 _WHAT IF HE THINKS I'M A SPY!_

 ** _YOU HAVE FUCKING PINK HAIR WHY WOULD YOU BE A SPY_**

 _HE'LL KNOW I'M LYING_

 ** _MAYBE HE WON'T AND JUST SEND YOU FOR A PSYCHE EVAL_**

 _THAT'S EVEN WORSE WHAT IF THEY POKE IN MY HEAD THEY'LL FIND OUT_

 ** _WHY ARE WE EVEN SO SCARED OF HIM FINDING OUT!?_**

 _I DON'T KNOW!_

 ** _FUCK JUST SAY SOMETHING_**

Not realising she had paused for a good thirty seconds, she burst out suddenly, "I saw this shark and I just had to follow it."

Did she not remember that he had been above her, watching her every move?

"Oh really?"

 _Fuck._

 ** _Well. If they make Yamanaka-san read your head I'll just stand in his way._**

 _Okay. Fine._

"Oh yeah absolutely! Beautiful thing! I think it was a…" what sharks were native to Wave country… "a Mitsukirina! Yes yes I saw a goblin shark! Oh it was so pretty and grey, I just had to follow it you know, I really like sharks and it's really hard to see them in Konoha.."

"Sakura…"

"Oh and they have such a cool snout! I didn't realise how deep I had swum following it but seeing as I never see sharks ever I just really wanted to—"

"Sakura…"

"Also I was really hoping I would see a megamouth shark but those are so rare they're never seen so I'm really grateful I got to see this shark and—"

"Sakura…." This one finally caught her attention.

"Ye-yes Kakashi-sensei?"

"Mitsukirina have been spotted less than fifty times over three hundred years… and they enjoy very deep waters, much deeper than you were able to swim."

"A.. Ahh I didn't know that sensei…"

"Indeed."

"Well it must have just been a little bullhead shark then sensei!" She nodded at her answer, pleased with herself.

"Those are two very different sharks Sakura…"

"Oh but it was so dark sensei! I just saw this thing with a fin swimming and I supposed it must have been a shark so…" she carried on, spouting her little story.

He wasn't sure if it were out of nervousness or pure idiocy but she was slowly digging herself into a hole. A deep— and he wasn't going any further than that. The girl was twelve and Icha Icha had no place in his mind while he interrogated a twelve year old.

"Sakura- _chan_."

 _Fuck that was creepy._

 ** _"_ Fuck sensei, that's creepy."**

Kakashi's eyes widened momentarily.

Sakura gasped and covered her mouth when she realised what she had said.

"Ah… ah… S-sensei that.. that wasn't supposed to come out like that!" She yelped, freaking out and ending her sentence in almost a scream.

 _Oh my kami-sama what did I just do! INNER!_

 ** _Whoops._**

She didn't sound apologetic at all.

 ** _That's because I'm not you dipshit_**

"UH… um, so.. yeah the shark was just so um… um…" from the look on sensei's face he didn't believe her one bit.

"Yes…?"

"Yeah…. the uh…" She looked down at her shoes, praying for an answer, "shark… um… Well I was also interested in sink… holes… and— **Hyaaaaaaaaaa!** " her voice came out in a high pitched squeal when she looked up, only to find his face a few centimetres from hers.

 _SO INTIMIDATING!_

Thankfully, her screech went straight to the primal male parts of Sasuke's and Naruto's brain, where their heroic instincts were automatically conditioned to rush out at the first sign of their teammate in danger. The two of them rushed out of the room, kunai in hand and ready for battle. That is until their brains registered the image before them.

Sakura. Hands clasped on her chest. Leaning backward.

Kakashi-sensei. Face way too close to his student.

Naruto jumped to the wrong conclusion immediately.

"How dare you try to take advantage of Sakura-chan! GET AWAY FROM HER!"

Kakashi side-stepped the blonde easily, tripping him into the floorboards. Sasuke just stood there, eye twitching.

"Sakura- _chan_ and I were just having a conversation about last night, weren't we?"

"What!? What about last night!? Sensei Sakura is too young for you! This isn't right!"

The Icha Icha loving man sighed. At this rate, Tsunami-san and her family were going to have the wrong impression of him.

"Naruto calm down, nothing of the—" Naruto barrelled straight into his open palm, "sort, I was just concerned about her health, you all saw how tired she was last night."

"Oh yeah!" Successfully diverted, Naruto turned to Sakura, "Are you okay now Sakura-chan? Why were you so tired last night? Did you learn a cool new jutsu? Oh but you came in and you were really wet! Did you go for a swim then? Or did you fall in? But then why were you tired? Sakura-chan are you okay now? Are you—"

BAM!

"Shut. Up. Naruto!" Her ears were about to fall from his barrage of questions.

"I— I uh, I'm fine…." She muttered unconvincingly, pausing at Sasuke's eyebrow raise.

"R-really! I was just doing this chakra thing over the sea you know and I'm fine now I swear!"

"If that is all, then why is sensei harassing you so much?" Sasuke asked, catching her out.

"He's just being a sensei Sasuke…" At his disbelief, she added, "Sensei is just… better at showing emotion with the only female on the time. Yeah. Yeah you know, but sensei doesn't want you guys to know that." She mock whispered.

"OHHHHH… YEAH…. Man that's so unfair of sensei." Naruto attempted to mock whisper back.

Sakura nodded wisely.

"So… breakfast?" And they all headed to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Kakashi couldn't believe Sakura just bullshitted him with a story about a shark, and got away with it.

* * *

I hope you guys are enjoying this story! If you have any tips about improving my writing, feel free to let me know! I've been bouncing around ideas about Sakura and Itachi for a while now and I'm not sure how I'd like them to meet. What do you guys suggest?

On another note, my other pieces of fanfiction are coming along slowly. I think I'll be focusing on this the most, along with my newest piece Fairytale. To my readers of Road to Badass, I'm planning on re-writing it at some point. My grammar was just so bad two years ago and my ideas on Sakura were dead cringy!

Nevertheless, I'm back on fanfiction!


	5. All it takes

Title: Oyogu

Summary: Once it's dark and you feel the water still, swim a little more until you can't swim anymore. She's the child of a prophecy lost for centuries, reborn again and again until she finally returns. When Sakura falls into the sea, she finds she can suddenly sing like nobody's business but is suddenly burdened by a curse so old, it could unravel who she is.

Rating: T

Pairing: ItaSaku

* * *

Sakura inhaled slowly and willed her trembling fingers to still. In one hand, she gripped a kunai tightly, the other on Tazuna's shoulder. The fog around her only enhanced her other senses, making the sounds of battle that much louder and the fact that she wasn't really doing anything more painfully obvious. She knew it wasn't the time for wavering emotions or feeling left out but she couldn't help it.

 _She was watching their backs again._

During the fight with the demon brothers, all she did was guard Tazuna. Right now, Kakashi-sensei had assigned her once again, to Tazuna. It wasn't that she didn't like the old man, he was a nice guy, but she knew he had her set aside away from the fray because she couldn't fight. It was no big secret. She rarely sparred with Naruto or Sasuke because she didn't have that kind of raw power. For crying out loud everyone knew she'd barely scraped past taijutsu in the academy.

 _What was she doing?_

She inhaled again, scared as usual and wishing she were anywhere else, even the orphanage. Unlike her teammates, she never craved a battle. Speaking of which, one of them was currently missing, the other was trapped in some kind of jutsu. Kakashi-sensei was battling Zabuza who was mildly obsessed with his Sharingan and she... she was on guard duty.

That wasn't even the worst part.

The scariest thing was that she knew a clone was lurking around her. She guessed that Zabuza dismissed her as a threat the first time they met because based on the position of his clone -cocked head, relaxed stance- it didn't label her a threat.

How quickly would it kill her? Or would it toy with her? Toss her to the side?

At least she would see it coming, she mused. If there was one good thing happening right now it was that she could see the lines of chakra that made up the clone. Maybe she would see it move before it slashed her throat. Or would it just knock her out?

Unlikely. She didn't know how long the clone was going to be there for. She didn't know if it was going to kill her or just make sure Tazuna didn't go anywhere. She wouldn't last a minute if it chose the former.

She was a sitting duck.

Unless... No.

No. How could she possibly fight an S-ranked mercenary? She was so incapable of anything... she...

She dropped her head down and sighed. Then shot back up realizing she was still guarding Tazuna-san.

 _I can't even guard a man properly... what am I thinking. I'm just going to die here. Well I have no family, hardly any friends... If I can't even last on this mission then-_

 _ **Stop it!**_

 _Stop what?_

 ** _Stop betting against us!_**

 _I'm not._

 ** _Yes you are._**

 _I'm not._

 ** _Come_ _on you dumb fuck._**

 _Excuse me?_

 **If _you're so convinced we're gonna die why haven't you just run away already? Just let this guy die and leave. JUST GO AND SAVE US BOTH!_**

 _I... I... He has kids... I... I can't just-_

 ** _You're not just going to let him die? Even if your chances of surviving this increase by a shit ton?_**

 _He can't fight for himself! I... I know what that's like..._

 ** _Well now that we've established you're not taking the easy way out, don't just roll over and give up already!_**

 _Inner! I'm just being realistic!_

 ** _So? Self-fulfilling prophecy baka, you think you're gonna die, you die._**

 _That's not true. Wait. That's economics. Wait. What.. Why are you bringing that up now!?_

 ** _Better than convincing myself I'm going to die..._**

 _*Mouth hangs open*_

 ** _Look at Naruto man... he's so peppy, even though literally everyone hates him._**

 _I... what?_

 ** _Wow, you are blind._**

 _I see what you see._

 _ **I interpret it differently.**_

 _You're so... so..._

 ** _I'm trying to keep you alive you dumb fuck._**

 _How is this-_

 ** _Now, since you're determined to get us both killed, what's your backup plan._**

 _What..._

 ** _BACK UP PLAN_**

Sakura sighed. S-ranked ninja. S-ranked ninja. S-ranked ninja.

In his own element. In his element.

Big guy. Real fast. Way faster than her. Huge sword. Probably about her height.

 _ **CLONE!**_

Clone... Clone... Clone...

The real Zabuza wouldn't attack her either, he was too busy dealing with Kakashi-sensei.

 _Think Sakura... Think..._

The first time they 'met', he had used the same clone. There was no reason for him to switch it up, not when he was dealing with a bunch of genin. He was too proud to fight any of them but Kakashi-sensei... definitely the same kind of clone then. So a water clone. What was it... what was it...

 _ **It has one tenth of the user's power**_

Right. With a single slash, Naruto had caused enough damage such that the clone reverted to water.

All it would take is one hit.

She just needed to survive long enough to hit it once.

But how? How?

She was out of her element. Beyond out of it. She had just only learned how to walk on water, and she couldn't leave Tazuna alone. He probably couldn't swim for long, and if Zabuza noticed the bridge builder was swimming away he might just create another clone. Chances were though, if he did, Kakashi-sensei would notice and wouldn't let him. If he didn't create another clone, maybe she could trick the clone just enough and win. If she could cause just enough damage, maybe she could win.

There were a lot of ifs here.

Without moving her head, she eyed her environment. Misty and entirely surrounded by ocean waters. Very deep waters from the looks of it.

It was misty enough that without the lines of chakra she could see, the clone would be hidden from her. That meant the clone couldn't see her either.

 _ **It can sense you though.**_

Ah that was right... What if she made a clone? No that would take too much energy. But she was good at cycling her chakra and re-absorbing what she didn't use. So she could make a clone.

What if... She eyed the water around her... that was risky.. and there were too many variables... but she didn't see another option. Not unless her taijutsu suddenly improved or her ninjutsu know-how significantly increased.

 _It's one clone. All you have to do is get rid of one clone. With the right circumstances, even a genin can defeat a jounin. All the jounin has to do is make a mistake._

She gulped. The clone would underestimate her, just like Zabuza did. That was her chance.

 _Kami-sama if you're out there. I'm sorry I swear (in my head) at the watermelon ojiji all the time, I'm a good person I promise. I have to be if I'm being this stupid..._

She rubbed her cowry shell for good luck and put her fingers together in a handseal, the plan was shaky at best... but she didn't have much of a choice did she?

* * *

As a little girl, the orphanage had been a scary place. The bright spots in her days were when Akage-san would visit or when Oba-sama was nice, but that was it. Now that Oba-sama was old, she had mellowed out and liked Sakura but things weren't always that way. The other children had always picked on her and despite Oba-sama's strictness, they would steal her food. If she complained, they would bully her with a viciousness you didn't expect from children. For her, the orphanage was the most unwelcome place. Meanwhile, the people in the market close to their district were familiar with the antics of the poor. Always on their guard. She had learned her lesson after trying and failing to steal some food.

So she had entered the richer district. Crawling around in alleyways and keeping to the shadows a noonday sun could create while following pretty ladies in their nice kimonos because obviously, they found their stuff in the nicer places. Cleaner places where maybe people weren't so on their guard. She watched quietly at first, not wanting to risk a beating. She had observed people who walked around quietly, surreptitiously, never drawing attention to themselves. Sometimes she saw quick blurs and got the idea that these two different groups were actually the same. After some time, she realized they were people she needed to avoid..

But for a while it seemed they could see her. As if they always had their eyes on her. Like she would step one way toward an orange stall and quiet man all dressed in black would turn toward her direction. It took some time, but after a while she realized she had this... power source in her. A source she could hide and then they wouldn't see her anymore. She knew it was chakra now but five year old Sakura likened it to a ball of energy. When she was scared, she would pull everything into a tight little ball and wish shadows would hide her. By coincidence, she figured out that by doing so, the men in black would suddenly turn the wrong way, as if she weren't there, and leave.

They touched briefly on chakra use, chakra signals, and chakra sensors in the academy, but not alot. Based on what she remembered though, she suspected that little her had learned to hide her chakra signal through pure desire.

She was no prodigy, but maybe she was just good enough at chakra manipulation. Good enough that she could survive this.

She smothered her chakra, willing it into the tightest ball she could imagine. At the same time, she cast two henges. She eyed the lines of chakra as they enveloped both her and Tazuna, realizing with a start that there was still a difference in chakra. She quickly increased the level of chakra over Tazuna, praying it would seem like it was hers, hoping to all hell he wouldn't notice it only covered the skin of the man. Meanwhile, she smothered hers as best as she could.

She expanded her senses, became more in tune with the body of energy that belonged to the water clone. Her own chakra seemed to flare, paying attention to the hostile chakra. She turned to look at it.

It's head was cocked in her direction, but it was just watching. However, she noticed a twitch in the chakra. The same twitch that resonated at the back of her throat, down her spine and ending at her toes.

It was just watching. Keeping tabs on her chakra. It probably couldn't tell who was who... hopefully.

She tapped Tazuna's shoulder. It was likely she only had six to seven seconds before the clone jumped into action, based on how antsy her own chakra flow was.

"Do you trust me?" She mouthed. He nodded.

 _Five_

"Jump on three."

 _Four_

The clone's feet swiveled, the chakra fueling the clone poured into it's legs.

She tapped once.

 _Three_

Twice.

 _Two_

Thrice

 _One_

She pushed him off the bridge and ran toward the foggiest spot she could find. She grimaced when she landed next to a dead body but sighed in relief when she felt her own chakra coursing beneath the bridge, keeping Tazuna afloat. She could do out-of-body manipulation. Good.

One variable down.

Two more to go.

She still looked like Tazuna. Even if Zabuza's clone was capable of reading chakra, all it would read were identical signatures. That meant it would rely on what it could see. That was good. As long as she didn't speak... she had maybe fifteen seconds before the clone figured it out.

 _Chakra._

 _Chakra._

Using every ounce of concentration she had, she signed slowly with one hand, keeping her palm by her side. Forcing her fingers to move as indiscernibly as possible.

It was all about chakra. She was in control.

The signs directed the movement of chakra while yelling them out aided ninja in focusing the swirl and output of chakra, but they were for ninja with imprecise control. Like Naruto.

She knew the theory. She was in control. Two handed signs or not. One handed sign or not. It was all the same. Whether it was by her side, whether it was on the other side of the ocean, the result was dependant on her. Chakra was chakra and she knew she was in control.

She was in control

Tiger. Her chakra rose, smothered as it was.

Boar. She willed it away from her body. Beads of sweat dripping down her temples.

Ox. She focused on the environment she wanted it to be directed to, using the chakra she surrounded Tazuna with as an anchor.

Dog! Her chakra burst to life, forming two clones by Tazuna's side and one directly underneath him.

A third of her chakra was gone now, another third would be gone within ten minutes.

One more variable down.

With a yell, one of her clones ran along the pillar and onto the bridge, her target in sight.

 _All it will take is one hit._

 _Just one hit._

* * *

Man fight scenes are hard. I can barely write normal scenes as it is. It's a shorter chapter but I hope you guys enjoy it :)

So basically I'm keeping Sakura's skillset as close to canon as possible but boosting her chakra control (I mean it's already pretty amazing in the canon). This is the only scenario (you'll see more later) that I could think of where Sakura wins a battle against Zabuza's clone. You may have noticed that my summaries aren't the same. Well I keep finding ways to add or change them and can't be bothered to fix all of them.

Constructive criticism is appreciated.


	6. Spellbound

Title: Oyogu

Summary: Once it's dark and you feel the water still, swim a little more until you can't swim anymore. She's the child of a prophecy lost for centuries, reborn again and again until she finally returns. Sakura falls into the sea, and while she can suddenly sing like nobody's business, she finds herself with a burden and a curse so old, it could unravel who she is.

Rating: T

Pairing: ItaSaku

* * *

When Sakura first got full marks for a test, beating even the great Uchiha Sasuke, her smile had shined brightly. She had pestered the grumpy Oba-san for dango, drank tea until her belly ached and even stolen a watermelon for herself.

In her defence, the ojiji had planned on throwing it away. Planned.

The thing though was once she got those full marks the first time, she became complacent. So complacent in fact, that she fell to fifth in class **fifth!** by their next test. She was never below the top three!

She imagined that perhaps, maybe, just maybe, Zabuza would be the same way.

He was so focused on Kakashi-sensei and so far above them in skill, that perhaps he was being complacent too.

So complacent in fact, that he wouldn't bother with anything fancy when dealing with a genin clone.

She predicted it just right holy _shit_ she did. His arm flew toward her clone at an alarming speed in a simple arc. As her clone ducked, she made her final clone, and dispersed her henge while maintaining her civilian like chakra signature. All at the same time. There were six identical chakra signatures now. Her, the clone on the bridge, the one she just made, the two left by Tazuna, and Tazuna himself.

The water clone made a leap toward her now. From the position of his arms, he didn't deem her a threat yet. She boosted herself with a clone and leaped over Zabuza's water clone, succeeding in avoiding any injury. That probably wouldn't happen again. Now that she no longer resembled Tazuna and had given herself away as a ninja, he would take her more seriously. Maybe just a little bit more but that was enough to reduce her chances.

However, he also hadn't realized the real Tazuna was below the bridge. All the chakra he could sense pointed to the fact that Tazuna was probably still on this bridge, not barely standing on the water through her skillful chakra manipulation. It was also rare and uncommon for a genin to use out of body chakra manipulation.

She barely landed by her clone when she heard the unmistakable pop of a released clone.

 _Shit._

She hadn't planned for that. Damnit she had already gotten cocky!

The clone cocked it's head to the side and it's eyes narrowed.

 _FUCK IT FIGURED OUT HER TRICK._

She had to implement her plan earlier than she had expected.

Sakura released the chakra that surrounded Tazuna, including the chakra beneath his feet. She pulled it all away, feeding it toward her clone while he dropped into the ocean. She quickly formed another clone, aiming it to appear right in front of the water clone.

It took him less than a second to react, but it was all she needed. Pushing chakra through her legs, she _leaped_ right behind the water clone and _ducked_ as he first slashed through her clone, spun, and stabbed the air she had just occupied. As she ducked, she willed her chakra to wrap around the dead body she landed by earlier and cast a substitution jutsu, ignoring the handseals because they weren't just fast enough.

He could have hit her lungs. If she had used handseals. But she didn't. She steadied herself, ignoring the innate urge to squeal when her hands came into contact with the dead man's shoulder.

All the clone could do was sense her chakra. He could barely see her but she could see him bright as the fucking day.

 _One more time._

As he leaped towards her, she counted the seconds. She hadn't been sure a low-ranked substitution jutsu would work but now that she was certain...

 _I'm going to run out of chakra so fast..._

There was one other dead body she knew to be here somewhere. Feeling around her with her chakra, she carefully wrapped tendrils of chakra around it, ignoring the shudder that went up her spine.

The man was already dead.

She waited to the last possible moment, leaping and substituting herself with whichever dead body she could find. She gasped when she landed, already exhausted.

 _If I make it out of this alive, I need to convince someone to train me._

From the sting on her cheek and the warm blood she felt, she barely made it. She was slowing down.

 _Not good._

Without pausing for rest or considering how fast her chakra stores were depleting, she substituted herself with the dead body again, buying her time.

 _Precious time._

She was becoming more and more of an annoyance. Something Zabuza had not anticipated and was not in the mood to deal with.

 _Fuck..._

As soon as she reappeared in that position, she forced her chakra into a henge, ignoring the seals. She didn't care what she turned into so long as it was small.

* * *

She turned into a rat.

Of all the things...

Despite her dislike for the animals, the smaller surface area she was made up of, the harder it would be to kill her.

She ran as fast as she could up to him, pushing chakra to her feet, breathing heavily. Her stamina was falling, she didn't have much time. She canceled the transformation at the last moment, ignoring the screaming of her lungs and the sluggishness of her chakra.

But she forgot.

She was dealing with an S-ranked ninja, clone or not.

The pain hit her in steps. First she was aware there was an obstruction, she couldn't quite reach the water clone, had clearly underestimated how fast he actually was. Then the pain in her side blossomed like shards of glass all pricking her at the same time, her awareness honing in on the fact that a **blade** was in **her** stomach. It was like slow motion. This close to the clone, she could see the slow smile on his face beneath the bandages. He pulled the blade out of her with a _shlick_ she heard more than felt. The mist seemed to curl around her arms with the gentleness of a lover.

She could see a freckle on his eyelid, the coarse grey strands by his forehead and the rough and yellowed edge of his bandages. She gasped.

The world was back to crisp reality. Pain hit her, the kind of pain that sliced past her bones and muscle, branching out through her body. She coughed violently, dropping to her knees, not quite sure if she should cry or try to breath. Both hurt so much. Saliva fell out of her mouth, hitting the floor of the bridge. She cupped the wound with her palm and stared up at the water clone. He moved like a blur and she screamed, agony rolling through her body as blood gushed past her fingertips.

Satisfied, it leaped away and she realized he was going after Tazuna. The real Tazuna. Her brain wearily followed each clones' action as one by one, they ran toward the water clone. She prodded the wound on her stomach, wincing when she pressed too hard.

Was she going to die?

She felt the first clone poof out of existence.

Three seconds?

One of the clones pushed Tazuna further under the water, how long could he hold his breath, maybe thirty seconds?

Thirty-three seconds? No the water clone would get to him in less than ten. Probably five.

How many clones did she have left? Four.

She had four. No she had three? Plus her. That was four.

Gathering up the remnants of her energy - she didn't even know how much she had left-, she channeled it into the wound, willing it to stick her flesh together.

One more clone poofed out of existence.

She had two more seconds?

Chakra coursed through her channels, her feet burning as she overused her chakra, got to her feet and leapt _faster faster faster_ after the shinobi.

 _I think... I think..._

She threw shuriken after shuriken at the water clone, trying to slow it down even if it was just by nanoseconds and prepared to substitute herself with Tazuna.

The final clone was dispersed.

Six seconds. Two extra seconds.

 _I think... If I can save at least one person, even if I die..._

She wrapped her chakra around Tazuna - _It will be worth it-_ and as Zabuza dove into the water, she switched their places, praying her final variable would work out.

* * *

Her eyes opened to the view of the bright blue ocean, sun filtering in past the waves and her senses screaming.

 _ **STOP FLOATING THERE FOR FUCKS SAKE DO SOMETHING!**_

Her eyes opened and she pushed herself away from the surface of the water, aware that Zabuza had broken the surface of the water and was going after her, but could turn back for Tazuna anytime. The clone looked annoyed when it saw her again and in a single powerful motion, covered some ten feet in less than two seconds. She was face to face with it again.

However, being underwater slowed the clone down.

 _MY ELEMENT!_

Coursing chakra through her foot, she kicked out at the clone, sending a wave of water at it.

 _Shit I shouldn't have done that... I have like... minimal chakra left..._

She swam further down, covering more and more distance until she felt his chakra come too close to her. Her eyelids blinked and with a start, she realized the clone had grabbed her by her hair. She kicked out but to no avail. From the corner of her eye, she saw the glint of his kunai angled at her throat, ready to cut her open.

In blind panic, she pushed her chakra out. She took every ounce, pouring everything she had into a tangible form and attacked his chakra. Almost like a separate entity, it sought the body ready to attack her. The chakra tinged with anger penetrated his eyes just as the edge of his kunai made contact with her neck. The water clone poofed out of existence and she sunk deeper into the water, tired and without the energy to swim back up.

 _Kakashi-sensei, I think I just defeated Zabuza's clone._

 ** _Heh. What's Naruto going to say._**

* * *

Her chakra stores were completely depleted and her blood hadn't stopped trickling out of her body. How long had she been in the water? She couldn't really feel much save for how cold she was becoming and the slowly increasing pain. Now that her adrenaline was wearing off, the wound in her side began throbbing, snapping her out of her daze.

Her eyes opened slowly, surveying the expanse of blue all around her. She turned her head left and right, noticing her long pink hair float in the water, following her movements. Then, she became aware of the blood swirling around her body. To her surprise, her blood was an ugly shade of green. Hovering like sickness in the ocean. That meant she had dropped below thirty feet into the ocean.

Yet, she couldn't find it in her to raise her arms and lift herself to the surface. She was content to simply stare at the nothingness around her.

 _So blue._

There was something so utterly soothing about the sea. The gentle crashing of the waves, the undulating pressure against her body, how quiet the environment around her became as she sunk deeper deeper and deeper. As she observed the shades of blue around her, spinning slowly, the pain in her side changed from intense to barely a prickle. The exhaustion from chakra fatigue lifted and she felt energized.

She lifted her arms up, palms following the motions of the water. It felt good to be immersed in cool water. She didn't feel cold anymore either, like she was numb, retreating into herself.

 _Maybe it isn't really that cold. Maybe I'm just dying._

Surprisingly, her revelation didn't terrify her. Nor did she spring into action. Instead, she simply kept her eyes open, pleased that the salt didn't sting her eyes.

Soon enough, she found herself landing on sand, some debris littering the area. Close by was the drop off she previously explored. By now, her fight was a distant memory, as was the pain. She forgot about Tazuna-san, her team, the mission, everything. All she could think about was how familiar the water felt, how comforting and soothing it was. She felt so free and reveled in it, prancing along the sand, toes barely making a mark before she moved forward.

Once again, she came upon the gash in the ocean floor. Staring down into it was like staring into an abyss, a never-ending darkness that would pull her in. Curious, she dove in, wanting to explore the darkness Kakashi had stopped her from swimming toward.

Past the edge of the drop off was a dark expanse, like a drop of black in an ocean of blue. The navy waters seemed to grasp her body with their cold, clean waters, prodding at something within her to swim a little deeper. The navy waters pulled her in, seducing her, convincing her to swim further in. The water was so fresh, she just knew it would be cleaner if she swam further down. This time, she ignored the beautiful plant life and the glowing fish, passing by them until once again, she was at the edge of it's cavern. The same place Kakashi had stopped her.

Grinning, she stepped off it's edge, allowing her body to drop slowly, as if the waters were swallowing her whole. The water grew colder and colder, until soon enough all she was at the bottom of the sinkhole. Barely any light touched the ground here, the only light she saw was reflected off the rocks jutting out at random. Having never been in a sinkhole, she began to walk around, using her palms to trace the rock and places the light touched to map out its shape. Her hands came into contact with coarse rock, sediment, dead coral, and seaweed. She giggled at the slimy feeling. Suddenly, her palms were touching nothing. Surprised, she flicked her wrist a few more times, waving her fingers around. Strange, there was only water here. Curious, she crouched and used both palms as her eyes.

She felt around the emptiness until both hands were pressed against the walls of the sinkhole again. She followed the edges of what seemed to be a hole down to the base of the sinkhole. How exciting! Then she heard it again, the faintest traces of the melody from the day before coming from the hole in the wall. Entranced and wanting to know where this melody was coming from, she swam into the hole slowly, arms and hands continuing to be her guide. It seemed like a tunnel. Her feet kicked slowly, going deeper and deeper into complete darkness. There was no light here and the only traces of life were hardy marine plants. Undeterred, she continued to swim after the melody.

After some time, the walls widened out to the point where even with both arms extended, she couldn't feel it's perimeter. Nevertheless, she continued to kick, instinctively knowing when a stalagmite might be before her or when to turn. She finally emerged from the cave, deep in the bowels of the sea. Like a massive wave, coarse rock rose into two walls past her and up toward the sky. At least she thought it might. From here, all she could see was a sliver of the bright ocean.

She seemed to be in a very deep and narrow trench. Here, the water was intensely still, pressuring so strong she felt like she might be vibrating. It barely registered in her head that she was in waters impossible to reach, but the thought disappeared when the melody rang out around her in clear tones. The distinct bell-like voices that made up the melody seemed to pulse through her, calling to her.

 _Ahhhh~_

 _Da dum da dum dum... da da dum dum dum dum...~_

 _Da dum da dum dum... da da dum dum dum dum...~_

Unbeknownst to her, she began to hum it.

She turned and hopped down the trench, following it's downward incline toward the source of the song. As she trailed after the music, the incline began to drop more steeply until all that was left beneath her feet was water. She wiggled her feet and allowed herself to sink again, her chest heaving from how stifling the water was becoming.

Finally, she found herself unable to go any further, at the end of a tiny tunnel buried beneath the walls of the trench she had traversed. She wondered how deep she had gone for there were no signs of life here. All she saw were the remains of marine life, perfectly preserved. Here, the melody was loud, booming. The voices seemed to thrum right through her body and she grew frenzied in her urge to find its root.

Her ears rang, what remained of her senses were overwhelmed by the melody. It crashed through her and she screamed. She pounded the walls of the cave as her awareness came back to her, the immense pain blooming once again. The water was suddenly so cold, so icy. She was freezing from the inside, the vibrations against her body threatening to fold her. Her forehead began to throb, a pulsing ache that ran down her eyes, her spine, to the tips of her toes. Her eyes began to close, her hips bucked and her arms spasmed as her body began to betray her.

As soon as the noise, pressure, and icy bite of the oceanic depths hit her, they passed. The water was suddenly welcome, the pressure abated, and the ice dulled into nothing more than a cooling sensation.

Her consciousness left her just as she saw a hint of red, impossible in the darkness of the trench.

* * *

When she came to, all she heard was murmuring.

 _She's back._

 _She's home._

Well they weren't exactly normal murmurs. They were like... voices, overlapped upon one another, each with a multitude of tones to it. Yet, she could tell that each voice belonged to a different person.

She opened her eyes, now very aware that she was under water and purposefully ignoring that she _was breathing underwater_. The scene that greeted her was one out of her dreams. She was in a cave, a large one with very tall kelp growing out from the center, out of the ceiling of the cave. A light blue glow from the ocean shone down through the leaves of the kelp, creating an eerie picture. All around her were little glowing lights, shining in pale whites and blues, turning the cave into a fantasy world. Large stalactites and stalagmites jutted and hung throughout the cave, adorned with pieces of coral. She could only identify a few: brain coral, elkhorn coral... but what caught her attention was the break in the water.

Toward the edge of the cave, where it blended into darkness was a river.

 _A river... underwater...?_

 _ **Wow... that's so cool!**_

Inner really shouldn't have talked because immediately, the chattering voices quieted.

" _Sakura-chan..."_ The voice was layered like the others, but there was a warmth and familiarity to it she recognized. She turned to its source.

"Akage-san, is that-" She stopped.

The woman looked exactly like her memory. Not a day over twenty-five with fiery red hair that gleamed in the odd light. Her eyes were a light green and her skin was the palest white. It didn't even look like skin, it shimmered and sparkled, as if she had glitter all over her. But unlike her memory, the Akage-san here did not possess legs. In their place was a long tail, not quite different from that of a koi or a goldfish.

She laughed, a tinkling sound.

 _ **Oh my god she has a tail. She has a tail. It's gold.**_

 _Oh kami all of them have tails._

 ** _Fucking hell Sakura you have a tail. We have a tail!_**

 _What.._

"Sakura-chan..." She sounded normal again, "You need to learn to control your inner voice, she's always been so loud."

 _ **What. The. Fuck?**_

"Language Sakura-chan, my goodness," but from the smile of her face, she was only teasing, "It seems we have much to talk about, but now is not the time."

* * *

Meanwhile above sea level, Team 7 was recovering from the aftermath of the battle. Their breaths were heavy and it was only now, in his near chakra exhaustion, that Kakashi realized their only female genin was missing. He spun around, taking note of Tazuna -safe-, but no Sakura.

He had noticed when she had dove into the ocean earlier, just as he had noticed that Zabuza's clone had lost it's chakra signature after reverting back to its watery form. He had been impressed, not expecting her to handle the situation, but also just ignored the fact that he couldn't read her signature anymore. Now he regretted it. The sky had darkened significantly, filled with pregnant cumulonimbi and the ozone smell in the air was sign of an oncoming storm.

"Hatake... she's gone." Pakkun said.

Naruto freaked, "What do you mean she's gone!? She's not dead! No way is Sakura-chan dead!"

Tazuna sighed and turned to Kakashi.

"She switched places with me just as the uh... just as Zabuza was about to kill me... I..." He was halted in his speech when Naruto ran up to him and grabbed him by the collar, shaking him and demanding an explanation, "So you just let her die!? Huh!? You let her die!?"

Tazuna just let him be shaken, his limbs seemed to give way to his weight, "I didn't see what happened... I'm... I'm sorry."

Kakashi walked up to the pug. "Nowhere?"

"Her trail ends here."

It didn't mean she was dead, but the smell of blood and lack of chakra signal was telling. The chances of her survival were low.

"Tazuna-san," He approached the old bridge-builder and squatted down to face him, "Tell me about the fight, what do you remember?"

The old man recounted it slowly. How she asked if he trusted her, how she tapped him slowly before tossing him off the bridge. He mentioned his surprise at landing on the water, not noticing the widening of Kakashi's eyes. From there on, the details were fuzzy until he was underwater, pushed in by one of her clones. After that, all he recalled was how close Zabuza was to him and how all of a sudden he was on the bridge and Sakura was no more.

"She fell through, she fell into the water and I walked over to the edge of the bridge but I couldn't see her..." He said quietly.

Kakashi sighed. This was... most unfortunate.

He had not expected the pinkette to take any action in the first place, now it seemed she had sacrificed herself for Tazuna. But also she had fallen into the ocean... the waters were relatively clear now but a storm was coming. If she was alive, he was certain he would find her. If she was dead... at least he could retrieve her body. Something told him she probably wasn't dead. If anything, she probably approached the sinkhole again.

"Tazuna-san... Can you see that these two get a good rest when they get back?"

"Naruto... we've completed our mission but watch out on the way back."

The blonde paused mid-rant, "Eh, Kaka-sensei, aren't you coming back with us?"

"I'm going to look for Sakura."

"Yosh!" He pumped his arm in the air, "I'm coming with you!" He walked right into Kakashi's outstretched palm.

"Didn't you hear anything I said."

He pouted, "Mou, I wanted to save Sakura-chan! Tazuna-san will be totally fi~ine!"

"No. Go."

Muttering, Naruto headed off with Tazuna and a limping Sasuke.

Kakashi walked over to Pakkun. "Is this where her trail ends?"

The pug nodded. Sighing, Kakashi crouched and eyed the increasingly turbulent waves. He had maybe twenty minutes?

"Alright."

He flashed through handsigns, "Kokyu-kyu no jutsu!", and dove off the bridge as a sphere of air formed around his head.

* * *

AND THERE WE GO, ALL DONE.

 _Kokyu-kyu:_ breath orb (I was trying to be fancy).

I hope you like the little fun fact: after 40 feet your blood looks green due to lighting. I figure if Sakura is so smart she's got to have read some random facts at some point. I hope you guys enjoyed the whole chakra control as the way she defeats Zabuza's clone kinda thing. I tried to make it as realistic as I could considering her skill level. She's not going to be a prodigy OOC kind of girl, she's just Haruno Sakura with superb control and some mermaid characteristics that would help her along the way.

If you guys have any ideas on specific traits she might have like gills, scales, that kind of thing, do let me know.

I appreciate any constructive criticism, especially with this scene. Writing action scenes are so difficult.

Cheers!


	7. A choice

Title: Oyogu

Summary: Once it's dark and you feel the water still, swim a little more until you can't swim anymore. She's the child of a prophecy lost for centuries, reborn again and again until she finally returns. When Sakura falls into the sea, things take a wild turn. Now she's got a voice that even Sasuke can't resist, but she has no time for that. She needs to master all the complexities that come with her other self, manage that tail that appears at the most inconvenient of times and deal with an ancient curse! AU Non-Mass

Rating: T

Pairing: ItaSaku (later)

* * *

Kakashi propelled himself downward ignoring the pressure around his lungs, while the ocean was not his preferred environment, it wasn't quite harsh either. He circulated chakra through his limbs and around his organs as after a moment, he sunk to the ocean floor. The water was murky, but not enough that he would not find a pink-haired genin who at this point, should have been obvious to him. As it was, despite his sharingan, there was no trace of her.

He tread the water lightly, reaching the drop off's precipice. The vertical navy expanse was only a few powerful strokes away, but the pressure and cold at this depth hugged his body unyieldingly. He concentrated on relaxing his body and maintaining even breaths, amused as the bubble around his head fogged up. At the edge of the sinkhole, his heart rate threatened to spike. He would not survive swimming down another unknown number of meters, he didn't have the jutsu nor the environmental training.

"Water bunshin no jutsu!"

He instructed the bunshin to first swim down the sinkhole, and if Sakura was not there, to find the route of caves spanning from this sinkhole. Unless he was mistaken, said caves expanded past the next drop off beneath this sinkhole and opened up into another one. He doubted Sakura's ability to handle the immense pressure that came with increased depth, but if she wasn't in the sinkhole and nowhere in sharingan-enhanced sight, there was a chance she might be there. Corpse or not.

The warmth of chakra cycled through his legs as he propelled himself past the sinkhole, a sense of urgency coming over him. Logically, Sakura could not have swum this far of, nor as deep into the sinkhole as he imagined. She was a fresh genin, new to the ocean, without a kekkei genkai and lacking any kind of specialized training. Based on observations in the academy and his own, she was most likely from a civilian background. It was impossible for her to survive in the kind of frigid pressure his clone currently faced. Yet despite the obvious signs she would be either dead or on her way there, he couldn't help but feel that she might survive. The world of shinobi was full of nightmares and moments that defied reality, those living in it only chose to ignore the laws of physics and truth.

If she was alive, he needed to find her. The ocean was rumbling in anticipation of a storm, the currents shifting ominously. He feared a maelstrom, because then Sakura would well and truly be gone. Her body could only be found by a rescue team, and even then, this far out in the ocean, even they would have difficulty. There was a reason why most shinobi left their victims in the ocean -should the kill occur there- without checking and it wasn't for a lack of meticulousness, it was simply difficult to survive an attack there. Even if they somehow stayed alive, the sea was full of bacteria, the person could bleed out or simply drown.

But his instincts pushed him further past the edge of the ocean floor, where the sediment crumbled into a blue abyss and toyed with his sense of depth. The clone beneath him, past the murky darkness he tread, was his only clue which way was up and down. Suddenly, his clone popped, unable to handle the intense pressure. All it saw and experienced flooded into the forefront of Kakashi's mind. The bunshin had swum down a cavern, the entrance of which lay at the base of the sinkhole. It swam into a tunnel with no light, only it's palm against the smooth side of the cave as guidance. Kakashi experienced the extreme stillness of water and its icy bite from the depths his clone traversed. Yet, there was still no sign of Sakura.

He quashed the innate wariness that came from stepping into nothingness and sunk, furiously channeling chakra through his body, fending off the pressure. Finally, he landed on a coarse floor with minimal sand or sedimentary kick off. Here, there was no longer a difference between light and dark. If he weren't standing on a surface, he would have no sense of his position whatsoever. He walked slowly, sent two more bunshin in opposite directions, and mapped the ground with as much precision as one could muster in the ink-black darkness.

With precious minutes left, he heaved a sigh and mentally prepared himself for the news Naruto and Sasuke would have to face. He had walked for what seemed to be forever, collecting raw information as he walked, searching for Sakura, but the only thing he and his clones found were cracks spanning longer than he could walk.

As he swam toward the surface, the currents increased in turbulence. Without chakra, he would have been tossed around. Cursing his luck -first genin team and one of them might have died- he dispelled his clones and shot chakra through his body, ignoring the teetering overflow symptomatic of chakra burn. The ocean was churning more violently than he had anticipated, as he swam upward he fought against the turbulent sway of waves, literally crawling vertically with chakra. By the time he reached shore, the roaring thunder seemed to vibrate through the sea, through him, and the village. Lightning lit up the sky and two opposite currents were crashing against the other, signs of a whirlpool.

For all that shinobi could twist the laws of physics and human nature, had he stayed in there any longer, he might have needed a search and rescue team too.

* * *

"Sakura is officially classified as missing-in-action."

"WHAT!?" Naruto exploded, eyes bulging and arms flailing, "Bu-bu-but you went to find her! How could you not find her!? You have all this cool jutsu and-and-and-" He quieted down when a hand patted his head gently.

Kakashi sighed, "Ninjutsu can't overcome everything Naruto."

"But you have the Sharingan!"

"Naruto..." He started, but was interrupted by Sasuke in a disbelieving tone.

"You don't have a single jutsu that can locate her."

"Jutsu can bend space and time, but few are created for an environment like the sea Sasuke," He turned to Naruto, "Both her scent and chakra trail end at the bridge, you saw the ninken follow her trail right up to the edge Naruto."

Naruto rolled up his sleeves, "Then I want to go look for her!", and marched to the door, right into Kakashi's outstretched palm.

"No."

"BUT-"

He gestured toward the taped shutters and closed drapes. "There is a raging storm that maybe one or two people in this world could survive, a fresh genin high on adrenaline is not one of them."

"Indeed Naruto-kun," Tazuna said, "The sea is a terrible mistress who has no limits, and the storm today could very well destroy our homes if it were any closer. As it is, the wind and rain are felling trees and flooding the town."

Then, in a softer voice, he whispered, "I... I don't know how Sakura-chan will survive this... out there..." As they fell into silence, the heavy weight of guilt surrounding him spread around the room.

The two remaining members of Team 7 sat quietly, unsure of how to process this.

Naruto didn't remember losing his parents, only knowing he was an orphan. Somehow, the memory of being taunted by faceless villages didn't quite measure up to the very real, very raw fact that Sakura could be dead. She was a friend who stood up for him once, and he never let her go. He followed her around until she finally relented and let him meet the oba-san at her orphanage. She would sit by him when he felt particularly miserable, never saying a word. Sneak him food even though he knew she didn't have a lot herself. He saw her, talked to her. He knew she loved a bite of dango and would lick the sweet syrup off of the plate if no one was looking. He knew she liked tea but sometimes just poured it into a wilted flower's pot. She was weird like that, kind without much thought for herself. And now she was gone? He would never see her again. She would never purse her lips and crinkle her eyebrows when she disapproved of him.

As he processed this, Sasuke sat by him, palms faced down bearing the weight of his head. Death. It was expected in their line of work. That was why you trained to become the best, to beat the odds of death. She was weak, one of the weakest among the genin actually. She lacked ambition, simply ambling through life without a plan, she just so happened to have chakra, and by chance decided to become a ninja. Her taijutsu was depressing, her ninjutsu dismal, and the most annoying thing about her was that she somehow scored the most highly in every class. She was a paper ninja, incapable of anything else, and a thorn in his side. Not only was she the reason he never earned first place in class, she had to be tolerable too. As a teammate, she never simpered or fluttered her eyelashes at him. Unlike her blonde, annoying flirty excuse for a friend, she didn't giggle or ask him for dates. She didn't complain during dirty missions. He supposed had he chosen to invite her for a team dinner, his mother might have liked her. Might have. She wasn't pronounced dead yet. If she came out of this in one piece, he really should invite her. Probably. Then he'd tell her to train.

But what if she didn't?

* * *

Meanwhile, Sakura chest was rising and falling very quickly, almost to the point of hyperventilation.

"You want me to what!?" She half-shrieked, "Are you sure about this!?"

The redhead nodded, eyes twinkling in amusement. "I'm sure Sakura-chan."

"But that could be dangerous."

"Sakura-chan, you're already inhaling underwater," She said, "And you have a tail."

"Right. But what's your point, what you want me to do is impossible!"

"My point is, you're already defying what is humanly possible." She swam towards Sakura and placed her arms on either side of the terrified pinkette, "You have swum to a depth where nearly all life is extinguished, brushed aside the impossibilities that bind humanity to the ground, you are what you are Sakura, don't be afraid of a whirlpool."

Sakura would have believed her too, had she not seen the size of the great underwater tornado, picking up sediment in the not so far off distance. Only a little magic kept it's frightening rumble quiet.

Akage-san laughed, "Trust yourself Sakura-chan, trust your instincts, and trust the sea. That's the only way you'll get back up to the surface, your body can't handle going back up the other way yet."

 _mumble_

"What did you say Sakura-chan?"

"WhatifIdrown.."

"Oh please Sakura look down at your legs," Where there was clearly none, "You're practically part fish, no fish can drown in the environment it is born in, no go on back up before your team is convinced you're dead and leaves you behind."

Sakura sighed. "Alright..."

* * *

She wasn't convinced of Akage-sans logic, but as she swam toward the massive spiral, she tried to ignore the fact that whirlpools tended to pull people downward and not push them upward. Away from the safe, well-hidden cave, her senses were well into overdrive. She could hear the ripples of water as they gave way to powerful currents, the heavy vibrato of thunder hammering her heart through layers of liquid; she could sense the tiniest switch in the current, see fish and debris for miles, as if the natural murk of the water had separated for her vision. Yet she didn't have time to contemplate the strangeness of the situation, nor could she focus enough on the panic swimming toward a whirlpool would induce. She was overwrought with adrenaline, the sensations dulled her ability to hone in on a single thought when there was so much she could see and feel. All she knew was her destination, and in a single, elegant motion characteristic of her kind, she propelled herself into a large current on its way to the whirlpool.

As the water spun her around, she felt herself go into a light trance, a little like her first time falling into the ocean. She wasn't too aware of the dizzying sensation, only realizing she was indeed rising as she reacted to the change in water pressure. Her lungs began to absorb air more quickly, her heartbeat rose, and the water transitioned from fresh and icy to cooling yet polluted. Her head burst through the water, suddenly, she found she couldn't breathe. Air wouldn't pass her pathways. Panic rose in her chest, she began gulping as much air in as she could, as if she were drowning. She flailed about in the water, unaware the whirlpool had all but kicked her out of its current, and realized only some moments later that her tail had separated into a pair of legs. Her chest tingled, as did the sides of her throat, until finally, she could suck in sweet air.

She rolled onto her back and kicked the water lightly, too tired to swim to shore or to even search for it. Her eyelids drooped, black spots cluttering her now blurry vision. As she passed out, she heard voices singing again, in that harmonious cacophony. Elsewhere, by a rock under a storm cloud, as if unaffected by the roaring waves, a cluster of finned young women rose from the water, hidden from human vision, and watched as the currents that by all means would have dragged a human to the bowels of the sea, swept her to shore.

* * *

The sun against her sensitive skin and waves lapping at her ankles was the perfect soothing combination. She inhaled slowly, stretching out her cramped muscles as the last dredges of sleep fell from her. The sand on her skin bit into the wound in her side, waking her up. She blinked blearily, staring out at the scenery, content to lie there and perhaps go back to sleep.

 _Eh._

She supposed it was quite the mystery, how she made her way to shore but at this point, she wasn't too surprised. Just very tired and in the mood to go for a dip. Somehow, once out of the water, she felt drained of energy. She was in no mood to stand up and walk back to the town, wherever that was. As it was, she was tempted to ignore the four obvious presences behind her.

"Ne.. ne.. Can we wake her up?"

And that was Naruto's inside voice. Sakura groaned inwardly. Had he already forgotten their lessons on whispering? Then, realizing the severity of the situation, she nearly smacked herself on the forehead. What was she going to say to them?

 _Oh yeah I like, passed out, and then when I woke up I was here?_

Who would believe that? They'd think something very strange had happened and next thing she knew she would be in an interrogation chair! She knew Ino's dad very well and was not in the mood to have his fingers rooting around her brain for something she herself didn't quite understand yet. But weighing that option against say, telling them the truth... or telling them she somehow just felt like going for a swim, and just so happened to be a much better swimmer than an S-Class missing-nin? Her mind flashed back to the single precautionary measure Akage-san had advised her of:

 _"Sakura-chan, a mermaid cannot survive in the world of land-dwellers as a mermaid do you understand? Think about it, humans are inclined toward suspicion, especially regarding what they don't understand. We are literally a myth. They could lock you up, experiment on you, look for the rest of us, try to exterminate us... The chances they find us are little, but even the smallest chance can turn the tide of things. *sigh* I can't explain it all in one day Sakura-chan, there is much else you need to learn about yourself that we don't have time for, that **you** don't have time for, just trust me on this. Keep your true self hidden Sakura-chan, don't let anyone be suspicious of you._

She settled for staying quiet and disoriented. It shouldn't be too hard to fake no? Kakashi-sensei already knew she was hiding something, now that she had more of a reason to besides a vague gut feeling, she might come up with something better than wanting to see a tiger shark.

"I'm already awake Naruto," She muttered, coughing as she did so. Strange, it felt like something was caught in her throat. Her voice came out as barely more than a whisper but, she realized with a sinking feeling, it was starting to sound a whole lot like Akage-san's. Great.

* * *

They had been restless to leave the house that morning. Naruto bouncing off the walls in anxiety induced hyperactivity, Sasuke shuffling around and getting into needless fights with the blonde knucklehead. He had summoned Pakkun, not expecting anything, but on the off-chance something of hers washed up. The pug hadn't said anything, only muttered a 'What?' in curiosity and bounded ahead. He took them on a tedious run, past the bridge, along rotting piers that had seen better days, until all that remained in the scenery were scrambled remains of driftwood. Finally, they reached a bare shore at the edge of a cliff, bordering on the forest they would go through to return home.

There he had sensed the faintest chakra signal belonging to his student. The sight of her was relieving and he noted the tension in his student's shoulders leave. She wasn't dead after all, his instincts had been right. At the same time, she was quite the sight. Diluted blood was dripped from her neck and side, staining the sand beneath her a red. Her clothes were ripped where she had been stabbed, her face was pale and she looked exactly as her situation was. Like she just survived a storm.

Yet when she spoke, there was a quality to it that made him turn his head sharply. It was barely there, but her voice now seemed as if there were another tone to it, almost like there were two Sakura's speaking in two separate tones. But it was so miniscule a difference, so slight, that he nearly wondered if he was going deaf.

* * *

Sakura patted her belly lightly, full of warm soup, as they walked along the route back to Konoha. The weather was warm, the wet earthy road giving way slightly beneath her sandals. Yet she couldn't muster up enough energy to be bothered by the 'ew' feelings the squelches and splatters of mud usually incited in her.

It felt like forever ago that she had just gone toe to toe against Zabuza's clone and lost. Or would it have counted as a draw? Whatever the case, it had shown her exactly just what her capabilities were and the truth kind of stung. While she had nearly gotten her throat slit, the memory of which drew her palm against yet another scar along her throat, she had no doubt Sasuke would have come out on top. Meanwhile, Naruto could have just overwhelmed the clone with his insane amount of shadow clones. For kami's sake, Sasuke had beaten Haku, awoken his Sharingan, and Naruto had inspired a terrifying ninja -a product of a bloodthirsty dog-eat-dog society- to do the right thing and sacrifice himself.

How did she even become a ninja? Why?

She could have died. For reasons that didn't make sense, she had not. But this was basically a second chance was it not? For her to reevaluate her life? Her choices, her purposes?

She hated looking at her teammates' backs, watching them fight, putting their all in it and coming out on top. She wanted to be better. To be a good teammate. To be the kind of teammate that was worth being looked for when against all odds, she was probably dead. She wasn't oblivious, she knew the chances of a ninja being found at sea, especially one like her, was minimal. But they had come for her anyway. Above all else, she didn't really have anyone else now did she? Akage-san was kind of confined to the big deep blue and oba-san was simply oba-san. She had a team now. She owed them a certain responsibility. She didn't want to hold them back when it was crystal clear they didn't need her, that they were each a powerhouse in their own right.

On top of all that, there was the mystery of who she was.

A mermaid? The first image conjured up by imagination was a voluptuous siren, all sensual and silky with a voice that could bring down a ship. Even with her tail, she hadn't looked like what a mermaid should look like. It was downright laughable if the evidence wasn't right there, if she hadn't experienced it for herself, because if any of them had the luck to be a mermaid, wasn't it Ino? A face with features genetics promised to appeal and entrance, a body guaranteed for femininity, and in general an appearance so wholly unlike hers. She even had the stereotypical charm down pat.

But Sakura didn't get to choose whether or not she should be a mermaid.

 _"You are who you are Sakura, her being was reborn into your body and that was not by accident. You might not think you look like a mermaid, but I promise that down here, you are every inch a mermaid as we are. Except you know, for the human part of you. We just need to get both parts of you put together."  
_

Speaking of which, things were becoming confusing, even as they walked back to Konoha. They way Akage-san had explained it led Sakura to the impression that creatures of old lived on a different plane. One that humans typically could not cross into. It was either that their souls were not pure enough or their bodies did not have the right energy to harmonize with that environment.

 _"That's why the sea guided you so far down Sakura-chan, that is where the barrier is thinnest, where a human body might come through." The red-headed mermaid said dramatically, ending her sentence in a flourish._

 _"But it is also what can kill a human being. That was why you were in so much agony my dear. Here," She swam to the pinkette and placed her hand on her belly where her chakra cluster was the strongest, "is where your energy is, but you have more than one. You have both, make sense? So the sea guided you down here for as long as your body could maintain it, but once you were aware of what was happening, in order for you to survive, your **yin** energy, took over and transformed your body into one that is more suited for the ocean."_

 _"The problem is, is that it is unstable. You aren't a full mermaid, but you aren't exactly half either. Your body isn't meant for the sea, only your energy." At the sight of Sakura's confused expression, Akage sighed and laced her fingers, "How do I say this... a mermaid is the ocean, she is the tides of the sea as they swell and sink, she is the moon as it waxes and wanes, this is the essence of your energy Sakura. It just so happens that your cycle started as you were by the ocean, awakening the dormant energy within you, and it manifested in all sorts of ways, haven't you been feeling a little different?"_

 _"Exactly, and your body starts changing to accommodate this new energy, so you can do things like breathe underwater now and sea the ocean with such clarity," She said as she traced the light scar along Sakura's neck, "except how can your body change for a new energy in a way that doesn't hurt you when your energy is unstable in your system? Humans are made of yang energy, but a mermaid is made of yin. You have chakra and a yang body, but a yin energy now. It doesn't seem like it yet, but in time, it will fight with your chakra for dominance. Then it will, like it has now, force a takeover, changing your body irreversibly. You might not feel it now, but you need to find a way to merge the two my dear, because you are neither fully human nor fully mermaid. Changing between the two is like holding back the sea."_

 _"And sea can only relent it's nature for so long my dear."_

As she shoved the thought of her body potentially staging a war within itself to the back of her head, she noticed a translucent figure playing in the trees. A male, with olive skin that shone unnaturally with gold flecks and shoulder-length black hair that gave the heroes of romance novels a run for their money. Actually, now that she was aware of it, there were several figures, each of them ethereal and beautiful in an otherworldly way. They flitted around as if they weighed as much as the air, prancing amongst dead leaves and soaring through her teammates.

All of which her teammates did not notice.

But the figures were aware of her. Intelligent eyes in varying shades would land on her and widen, but none of them approached her, instead choosing to carry on with their frolicking. She imagined that wherever they were, it certainly wasn't an empty, unexciting road. She had always wondered what it would be like to be a faerie, or a nymph of some kind. Free and without any responsibilities.

However, that wasn't the life for her. She wasn't born for things to be easy for her. She had no backing in the shinobi world and nature hadn't given her the gifts other kunoichi were full off, be it assets or skill. Meanwhile, as some half-assed genetically twisted human cum mermaid, she was almost certainly doomed. As her teammates walked ahead of her, carefree yet ready to train, ambition always in the backs of their minds, she bit her lip and made herself a promise.

'I want to stay on this team, and to do so means I need to be stronger. Each mission will only get tougher from here on out and I refuse to burden my teammates. I may not have any gifts, but this means I can do anything, be anything with nothing to hold me back. I might not have asked for a distinct nature, but I'll take this fin I've got and come out of this situation on top.'

* * *

Sorry guys, been a busy week.

It's starting to come together isn't it? I based the idea of her voice on this singer on Ukraine's got talent - she was so good the judges thought her voice was fake- so check it out to see what I mean.

A little bit. Once she's figured who she is and that kind of stuff out (way in the future), I'll post a what's what and what's happening with her and what being a mermaid means for her alright?

Do review, it is so lovely to read your comments, and yes Inner will be leaving soon, but that takes time. Sakura has to gain some confidence with who she is first. :) Cheers!


	8. Breaking down

Title: Oyogu

Summary: Once it's dark and you feel the water still, swim a little more until you can't swim anymore. She's the child of a prophecy lost for centuries, reborn again and again until she finally returns. When Sakura falls into the sea, things take a wild turn. Now she's got a voice that even Sasuke can't resist, but she has no time for that. She needs to master all the complexities that come with her other self, manage that tail that appears at the most inconvenient of times and deal with an ancient curse! AU Non-Mass

Rating: T

Pairing: ItaSaku (later)

* * *

"Would you like to come for dinner?"

* * *

A few hours prior to **the problem,** Sakura found herself under a perfectly lovely shady spot, feeling more and more defeated. Her weaknesses seemed to appear one after the other, taunting her as she watched her teammates exchange blows with raw skill she did not have. Sasuke fought with precision, accuracy, and calculated movements. His limbs moved fluidly, not quite elegantly but no less deadly. What he didn't have in pure stamina in comparison to Naruto, he made up for in technical ability and ninjutsu capability. Meanwhile, her blonde teammate clearly did not have the shinobi upbringing Sasuke did, but the multiple chakra-intensive shadow clones were testament to how far ahead of her he was too. He was like a brawler, never running out of energy, and bouncing back from every hit he took.

She sunk into the grass, wishing she could be anywhere but there. Although she had decided to train and set goals for herself, it seemed she couldn't even find her first step. While she stressed, their sensei was relaxing under a different spot, reading his perverted, orange book. The grey, gravity-defying hair bouncing along with his head at random intervals he must have found especially stimulating. She didn't understand why he wasn't training them, or more specifically her, when it was obvious she was so far behind her teammates.

What if she asked him?

Would he help her?

Memories of Akage-san's warning came flooding back to her. She didn't dare. He was her sensei, he would see her all the time. The moment something changed, even the slightest bit, he would notice. He wasn't a jounin for no reason, and she couldn't afford that. Just thinking about it put her instincts on high alert, he wasn't one she should ever allow close enough to understand the change she was going through. In fact, she kneaded her hands and surveyed her teammates, she couldn't let anyone know. She couldn't be too careful.

But that meant she needed to find someone else to train her, a person she didn't see on a regular basis, someone who knew her relatively well, but not enough to be suspicious if her behaviour shifted. She sighed and got up, the grass was tickling her behind and the shouts coming from Naruto weren't conducive to her important thought session. Head in the clouds, she left the session, not realizing she had already set her sensei's curiosity in motion. She arranged herself in a plush leather armchair by the window, a small table by her side, and her legs curled up beneath her.

Before she found herself a teacher, she needed a basic list of what she could and could not do. In neat handwriting, she penciled out chakra-control on her sheet of paper, listed beneath one of two headlines, strength and weaknesses. She had always been in tune with the energy running through her body, instinctively capable of hiding and sensing chakra, needing only a slight push to awaken her awareness. While she had maintained impressive control over cloning, transformation, basic academy jutsu and even out of body chakra manipulation, all of these along with her other abilities had one thing in common. They were dredged up during times of emotional distress, a risk she couldn't fully calculate. If she wanted to rely on her chakra control, she needed two things. First, a command over it that trumped any emotional or mental triggers and two, a larger capacity.

Next, she wrote taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu under weaknesses. She supposed they weren't all major weaknesses. For example, if she increased her chakra reserves, with her level of chakra control, ninjutsu would not be a major problem. At least theoretically, this was factoring out elemental-natured chakra and the twists in chakra that came with it. On paper, genjutsu was similar, it was down to what she could craft with her chakra, how well she could use it. Finally, taijutsu. The bane of her existence. She had never fully participated in academy exercises, learning and drilling down only the bare minimum. As of right now, her reflexes were decent next to another average genin, but her strength and speed her dismal, affecting her reflexes. Her stamina was depressing, thus impacting her speed. Finally, because she didn't train, her strength suffered. It was almost like a vicious cycle.

Well, the first thing she could do was probably read up on the theory of chakra. Everything and anything on it, she ought to absorb. But for the rest of her weaknesses to erode, she would need a teacher. Even at the most basic level, she would need some sort of guidance to first improve her physicality. Sometimes, she was envious of the clan-born, like Ino. They took it for granted but she had a daily routine that came with being a clan child, basic katas drilled into her being that slowly rose in complexity from the moment she could walk. Those were years and years of practice Sakura would never be able to make up for. She could ask Ino how she trained at home, but for some reason she felt uncomfortable doing so. As if all her insecurities that came from comparing herself to Ino had decided she couldn't ask the blonde she considered her best friend. She was simply too perfect.

She didn't dare ask Ino's father either. While it made sense in some way, he was a jounin, had survived a war, and would undoubtedly know someone who could give her advice, he had also watched her grow up for the last six or so years. She raked her hands through her hair, this was so difficult. Frustrated, she stood up and left the library, tucking the piece of paper into the waistband of her shorts as she made her way out.

Sakura watched the currents ripple around her toes, ignoring the fact that her sandals were now beyond drenched and that she would be trudging back to the orphanage in said waterlogged footwear. These training grounds were quite a bit away from the training grounds her teammates enjoyed mangling and it's distance from civilians meant that any chatter or curious eyes were kept to a minimum. In fact, she wasn't entirely sure what number these grounds were, only that she had expanded her senses in an effort to avoid any shinobi on the way here. Her plan wasn't originally to find an empty ground, rather she had been walking around intending to find food and found her way here instead.

Suddenly, the back of her spine tingled with the same warning sensation before Zabuza's clone had moved into action. She tensed.

* * *

ANBU Team Ten was not known for slow, relaxed days. Their captain was known for being a workaholic, often forgetting his own well-being. Thus, his beloved cousin and self-appointed mother hen dragged him here.

"Come on 'Tachi-chan! Auntie Mikoto is going to be so mad if she knows I let you go on another mission!" Shisui whined, "Just an easy training session, and then we go get some Yakitori no?"

They had walked from the Uchiha place of residence, going through their private training grounds, through a semi-imposing forest before finally reaching training grounds ten, Shisui groaning about Itachi's disapproving air all the way. The grounds were quite beautiful, with a stream circulating throughout the landscape, eventually making it's way back to the Uchiha compound. The grounds however, were little known and rarely used. Partly because they were hidden by a forest, partly because it was common knowledge that anything in a five mile radius from the forest was unofficially Uchiha land.

So one could imagine Shisui and Itachi's surprise when they felt an unfamiliar presence within the grounds. The owner of said chakra didn't have hostile intentions, in fact judging from the lack of movement, they were likely at rest. Communicating silently, they activated their Sharingan each, hid their chakra signals and approached the unknown ninja. After surveying the individual, they could then decide whether it was a threat to be eliminated swiftly or simply a stranger requiring a firm exit. Instead, they both found themselves perched in a tree several hundred feet from her, well-hidden in what anyone but the two of them would call 'spying'.

One couldn't really reproach them for that, after all they were not used to seeing 'normal' folk. They were two ANBU operatives, hailing from the Uchiha Clan -normal rarely happened. One of them was groomed from a very young age to be heir, surpassed expectations of both physical and mental abilities, while the other was the single fastest Shunshin user known. Meeting and socializing with a fresh, itty bitty genin, was more than rare, if one discounted that Sasuke was also technically one. She was quite the sight for the two Uchihas. Her tiny form seated on a low, grassy ledge, kicking her feet in the stream below. She radiated the kind of -kawaii- they typically teased Genma for and even fit the role upon sight with shimmering pink hair.

In fact, they were so unused to the sight of an adorable, normal looking girl that they both lost the urge to tell her to leave. Rather Shisui's mouth fell open and he had latched onto Itachi, hiding them both in a tree.

It was an impossible case to surprise these two, well-known Sharingan users, especially Uchiha Itachi, but they were in for it once again. Upon landing in the tree and assessing the pinkette as very much not a threat, they had relaxed their hold over their chakra. The moment their chakra trickled out to normal levels, said genin had tensed up in a show of reflexes uncommon to the average academy graduate. To their mild shock, she then proceeded to smother her chakra whilst casting a replacement jutsu, _without a single hand sign._

Obviously she hadn't escaped their senses completely, she was still a genin after all. It didn't take much effort to trace her as she shifted positions, however that was the difference between an ANBU and a jounin. It was impressive how she seemed to disappear completely, chakra smothered away, and she could very well hide herself from a chuunin or jounin. But, they could still hear her breath, the beat of her heart, and the tiniest trickle of chakra that trailed between her original position and her current one. Nevertheless, their interests were peaked.

* * *

Sakura flinched when two pairs of feet landed right in front of the bush she assumed she was hidden in. Before she could attempt another replacement jutsu, one of them hauled her out of there. Freaking out, she slashed her kunai forward only for her assailant to dodge and watch her stumble. Well she wasn't going to stick around and made a break for it, shoving chakra down her feet and completely forgetting she was in Konoha, only wanting to ditch the random shinobi she did not recognize.

If she had looked up for a second, she would have spotted the shining hitai-ite and amused glances. Unfortunately, it took the both of them landing and obstructing her route of exit and a haphazard defensive stance several feet from them for her to finally glance at their faces. And holy shit were they attractive men. Tall, dark haired, and pale-skinned with aristocratic features that radiated the kind of elegance few were born with. In shock, she just stood there, jaw agape and kunai slipping out of her grip.

The sudden sting in her palm brought her back to reality and she cursed.

"Ma you're kind of clumsy with that kunai aren't you?" one of them teased, "Are you sure you should be holding one?"

Ouch.

She looked upwards at them, noting their discrepancy in height and how much it seemed like they were looking down on her. _Just like Ami and her gang._ They each wore a variation on a black men's hakama, the quality of which she didn't fail to miss. The fabric was almost luxurious, with soft grey lapels accentuating their well-tailored clothing and expensive, sturdy footwear that looked comfortable. A far cry to her faded, constantly hemmed training pants and worn top. _Not good enough._ It was like a sleepover at Ino's all over again. Well-meaning perhaps, but uncomfortable.

If she hadn't wallowed in her flaws and weaknesses all day she might not have been upset, after all she had grown a thick skin and had learnt to let talk coming from the upper class ninja to just be talk. Maybe if the medic-nin she visited a few days ago hadn't told her the scar on her side would take some time to heal, she might not have felt insignificant when she compared their differences. But at that moment, the fear that should have hit her when her throat was nearly slit finally bubbled up. It spilled over her emotional tolerance, pulling her insecurities, deep-rooted resentment, and jealousy out into the open. Tears welled up in her eyes as she struggled to remind herself that these people _didn't matter._

But as she told herself over and over that _it was okay,_ and _they don't see you as some pathetic, useless, not good enough **orphan,**_ the twisting, constricting knot in her chest broke apart. Her features crumpled into a scowl as she snarled, "Who are you to tell me that.?"

Her chest heaved as tears dripped out of her eyes. Angry that she had been pushed to exposing the equivalent of her weak underbelly, she shouted, "Who the hell do you think you are!?"

Shisui panicked, not expecting his attempt at a joke to be taken so extremely. He placed his palms up in a placating manner, "Hey, hey I didn't mean anything by it I just-"

"Shut up!"

And she sounded so much like an irate Mikoto oba-sama on a rare, frazzled day, that he did just that. Itachi stepped forward, about to clear the misunderstanding. Yet even as he moved, Sakura, past any kind of mood to entertain what he had to say, tossed her bloodied kunai at him. Although he caught it with ease, her sheer audacity quieted the already socially bungled man.

"I hate people like you." Her voice was weak and defeated, so full of sorrow yet sharp in her conviction.

As she spoke, her voice took on desperate tangent, "Just because you're from a clan... just because I'm not the same, you think you can tell me where my place is!? You people... you people..."

She paused, almost wheezing.

"I passed the academy all the same okay!? I didn't get special treatment. I even beat fucking Uchiha Sasuke for top score every single year! Some no-name girl with no background beat an Uchiha! But nobody gives a shit. Nobody... just because I don't have the Sharingan... it's not all that great! It took the precious Uchiha Sasuke two days to climb a tree! His chakra control is shit! But nobody cares because he's a bloody clan-born!"

She sunk to the ground, no longer paying attention to the two random shinobi. For all the times her best friend carelessly commented on her appearance, for every wealthy woman's look down their nose that shamed her, for the vicious classmates who hated her solely because she was different. For the teachers that told her she needed 'career options', for the team she wasn't good enough to help...

"I don't deserve the opinions from the likes of you, people who've never had a hard day in your lives... People born with luck and guidance and just other people who help you... how dare you tell me I'm not good enough... How dare you... I don't deserve this..." She curled into a ball and sobbed into her knees, so tired as wave after wave of emotion crashed through her system. She didn't see the widening of said two Uchiha's eyes, nor the pity that rose within their orbs as they understood what she said and where she came from.

Eventually, she stopped, her tears finally drying up while snot clogged her throat. She coughed, and made a move to rub her eyes. It was a good cry, and she felt a lot lighter. At least until she stood up and realized she'd been yelling at two random passer-bys. Mortified, she propelled chakra through her feet and leapt off, only to have the two goddamn fellas stop her.

She just kept her head down, not wanting to face either of them in such a vulnerable state.

Shisui placed a hand on her shoulder, ignoring her flinch, "Hey, look I'm sorry I upset you-"

"It's fine, whatever, let me go." She interrupted him, still refusing to raise her head.

"No.. no I want to apologize properly-" She snorted, grabbed onto his hand and turned her head so part of her blotchy face was visible to him.

"No you don't. Your kind never does. But it doesn't matter. We're not going to cross paths again. Let me go."

Something in her voice, the hanging of her head, and her overall air of contempt for the two of them moved Itachi toward Shisui. He shifted his head slightly, signalling that whatever it was Shisui had to say, she would not be receptive. In fact, she had palmed yet another kunai and he was certain she would stab his partner in the hand if she felt threatened enough.

* * *

When she had finally left the scene, somehow, she inexplicably bumped into none other than Uchiha Sasuke. She nodded and made to move, never having bumped into him in public and lacking any intention to make conversation with her year's golden boy.

The day got increasingly weirder as he stopped her in the middle of the road and asked her perplexed, "What are you doing here?"

What a dumb question.

"Walking home. What does it look like pretty boy."

He seemed to startle, eyebrows raised. They hadn't had much conversation before or after the mission to Wave, and he wasn't entirely sure how to start. This wasn't a good way to begin seeing as the Sakura that didn't giggle awkwardly had an abrasive flipside. He had not planned on meeting her on the way back to his residence, especially not on this road. While he panicked for just a moment -fangirl trauma- he quickly realize Sakura didn't look like she wanted to talk to him. In fact, she seemed impatient and annoyed.

"Come for dinner."

Her eyebrows rose.

"What." Her tone flat with just a hint of incredulity.

He cleared his throat, "Would you like to come for dinner?". This was getting awkward, he had not anticipated such a lackluster response.

"Why?" She wasn't keen on visiting one of the most influential clans in Konoha for good reason. Not to mention she and Sasuke didn't really have *that* kind of relationship. She wouldn't be surprised if Kakashi made him ask her.

Actually she would be.

Uchiha's didn't sputter, but he came fairly close. Scowling, he muttered, "Ju-just come. I invited Naruto already so it's a team dinner."

She blinked. If Naruto went perhaps it wouldn't be too awkward. His usual bright orange tracksuit would detract from her ratty clothing too. And it wasn't like she was actually angry with Sasuke. If anything he and Naruto were the reason why she wanted to become stronger. Sighing, she nodded.

"Alright fine... I don't really have anything to wear though."

"It's okay. Come around six-thirty."

"Okay."

She needed to spruce up a little bit, maybe borrow something Oba-sama used to wear she thought to herself as she walked in the direction of her orphanage, expanding her senses again so as to avoid any unwanted appearances. However before she could get too far, Sasuke interrupted her thoughts.

"Sakura."

She turned around, what else did he need to tell her? Wear a kimono?

He hesitated and scratched the back of his neck. Finally, he muttered, "I'm glad you're alive." Then he seemed to scowl and left quickly, a barely there red tint at the tips of his ears.

She blinked again. Today was so weird. But a warm feeling grew in her chest as she left. Suddenly, tonight's dinner didn't seem so bad.

* * *

Alright guys, there's your update!

Sorry it took a while, I've been busy and a little blocked trying to figure out how Sakura should bump into Itachi for the first time and so on and so forth. I tried to introduce her character a little more with a backstory because I didn't want your typical Itachi meets Sakura and trains her yay kind of thing you feel? I thought it would be a good opportunity to share the complexities of her friendships and feelings a little more too.

 **The Problem part 2** will be coming out soon :)


	9. Seeds of Trust

Title: Oyogu

Summary: "You are a part of the ocean's secrets Sakura..." When you're part mythical creature and part shinobi, the secrets you hide more than double. Yet when times become turbulent, Sakura finds herself trusting in a blank-faced, stoic ANBU captain every significant step of the way, much to her team's consternation.

Pairing: ItaSaku (later)

* * *

Sakura smoothed the dark fabric of her top along her upper thighs, concentrating on the hem of the fabric, fingers toying with a loose thread. She focused on her knees, the grain of the breathable yet dense fabric perfect for protection against scrapes, the streak of dark brown and black along the dinner table, anywhere but the stares she knew to be on her.

* * *

It seemed as if the only moments of peace were the hours before this dinner and she hoped this wasn't an omen for her future.

She started of by rinsing away the day's sweat at the orphanage and decided on an all-black ensemble. Though somber, the hope was the color streamlined her and ensured scrutiny wouldn't leave her with a too shabby first impression. On top she wrapped what essentially was a shortened yukata around herself, wrapping it together and tying a knot neatly at the side. It sat on her oversized with dark red piping in place of traditional lapels. While the bell sleeves were relatively old-fashioned, the silky fabric more than made up for it. It shone mutedly under the light and she sighed for a moment.

Perhaps she could afford this someday.

She tugged a simple pair of black pants that were cuffed at her ankle and had a tie at the waist. They were the kind of bottoms most academy students wore, thankfully she hadn't really outgrown hers and could wear them for at least another year until she made some money. Beyond the basic dark clothing she wore on a daily basis, the rest of her clothes were donations from Ino and the public, and pieces she had saved up to buy from a government funded allowance. As she braided her hair, she wondered how her teammate lived, in a large manor like complex she supposed. Never worrying about food or clothing, always dressed in the best fabrics. She braided her pink hair to the side deftly and left.

On her way to the Uchiha residence, she bumped into her blonde friend who immediately questioned Sakura's outfit. All black? Was she going to a funeral? A dinner at the Uchiha residence? In that combination? Honestly did she need to give her more clothes? But the Yamanaka had honed in on one point and one point only, Sakura was going to have dinner with Sasuke-kun. However when Sakura failed to invite Ino along, the girl had pouted and left, leaving Sakura feeling a mixture of guilt and resentment.

So she trudged her way to the gates of the Uchiha residence where she was allowed in with minimal pomp and fuss. She was given directions and made her way with slumped shoulders up to the doorway of the clan head's home, knocking on the door and failing to look at the individual's face before bowing whilst introducing herself shyly. It was only when the person returned their introduction-

"Thank you for coming Sakura-san, I am Itachi, Sasuke's elder brother, please come in,"

That she realized his voice sounded very similar to the man she had tossed a bloody kunai at earlier that day. In fact, now that she thought about it the pale skin and dark hair were very much shared physical qualities among the Uchiha clan. Standing in the entry way was a man who, from the light coming through the doorway, was very much taller than her. Potentially of similar height to the man she insulted that same day.

She had insulted an Uchiha.

Two of them.

Suddenly feeling very small, she looked up, fingers crossed and prayers whizzing through her head, only to have mortification engulf her when she saw the same elegant features of the man who had taken complaint after complaint from her. Up close, free from the clutches of blinding despair and resentment, he was utterly gorgeous and so obviously Sasuke's brother. They shared the same jawline, the same set apart eyes, the tall nose. She shuddered. If the Uchiha Itachi was anything like his reputation, she was dead. The Uchiha clan wouldn't take what she said with leisure, not when she was barely more than a street rat. She turned around, fully intending to say "Sorry wrong house," and leave. It was obviously a cop out but if she gathered enough chakra in her legs she could run a second ahead of this prodigy.

And hopefully the prodigy would deem her unimportant enough to let her flee.

Yet as her body turned, seconds before she could channel chakra to her legs, he spoke.

"Dinner has not started, Sakura-san, you are welcome to come in and join us."

Perhaps the words he chose put her at ease, or the fact that even she realized she had stood there gaping at his face for an embarrassingly long amount of time. But she was aware he had invited her in for the second time. He had done so with a tone free of any kind of undercurrent. She stared at his eyes and tried to read his face for any sign of sarcasm but all she found was a lack of the casual arrogance Sasuke often radiated. While he stood with excellent posture, he appeared relaxed and even approachable, a far cry from the insincere cold machine who loomed imposingly in Konoha genin imagination.

As if in response to her discomfort, he continued to shock her.

"I... apologize for this afternoon's events. Neither my cousin nor eye intended to disparage you," he said, "and we are accepting of truthful statements, no matter the circumstance.

As if on cue, Naruto's loud, "Mikoto-san it's been too long!" carried past the walls of the kitchen and out the doorway.

She smiled inwardly as she nodded in receptance of Itachi's apology.

Her head stayed downcast while she removed her slippers as she contemplated Naruto's ability to defuse any kind of tension. While she still had some reservations about entering what she considered a dangerous zone -the wealthy all had masks she'd learned that early-, she had faith Naruto would keep the discomfort at bay. He was bright and sunny, and would inexplicably take her side. Probably.

Not to mention Itachi-san seemed sincere and kind, didn't take offence to what she had said, and didn't look at her with the eyes she was so used to. Even knowing her background and the stigma that followed, he viewed her without contempt or disdain. It was a refreshing feeling.

"Arigato". She whispered, head still faced down.

As she entered the house, the yellow-toned lighting gave the interior a warm ambience. Despite the starkness of the traditional flooring and walls, it felt inviting. Until she arrived at the dining table. Unlike the traditional low table she imagined, it was a high wooden table, a deep brown with an almost glaring sheen. In the center was a small ornamental vase, but it did not detract from the sheer size of the table. Decorations appeared at random, but as her eyes were drawn from one elegant piece to the next, she found her eyes constantly returning to first, the sheen on the table, and then when her eyes were exhausted, to the head of the table.

He sat there, chin centered with overhead lighting drawing long shadows on his face. His cheekbones, forehead, and nose were accentuated but she couldn't see his eyes at all. Imposing. To the side, when she finally dragged her eyes from the strangely magnetic man, pushing away at the urge to relax her guard that came with a sudden weariness, was a beautiful woman. Unlike Ino, she was understated in appearance but more than made up for it with a charming aura. Long black hair, smooth porcelain skin lined minimally with age, the same perfectly proportioned features, and a lithe figure. She moved with the kind of grace years of etiquette drills took and floated toward Sakura all smiles and geniality.

But why was it in comparison to the Clan head's hard lines she suddenly felt the need to grab a kunai?

"You must be Sakura-chan? I've heard all about you."

She was gentle in demeanor there was no doubt, but the cheeriness in her voice uneased her. There was something that years of reading facial cues from the hardest end of the stick that rang in the back of her head and manifested in a tingle in her neck. While the man was terrifying and intimidating in the large forceful ways of physical aura, the woman was frightening in her complete lack of discernible emotion. Her mask was so real it had it's own personality.

Perhaps this was merely the side a stranger met, and Mikoto-san was indeed a gentle, lovely woman. But Sakura didn't survive scuttling through the alleyways of Konoha's wealthiest without learning a thing or to.

The woman brushed her hasty bow aside, insisting on informality. She made excited chatter as she asked Sakura about her likes and dislikes, when she became a ninja, how she was finding genin life, as she steered her past her teammates and toward the kitchen, the corners of her mouth in a pleasant half-moon all the while.

In truth, Sakura's screaming instincts were more than spot on. Within any social hierarchy but especially that of a shinobi clan lay a language few raised outside of that environment would ever understand. Even then, it was unlikely for it's complexities to ever be fully deciphered by an outsider. The Uchiha clan was known for their power, and the way they positioned their furniture, their stance, how they interacted in public was to enforce their image. While they still learned all the traditional basics such as how to set a table, the arrangement of art, reading the classics and playing an instrument, they were entrenched in presenting their most powerful side from a young age. Within the younger generation who lacked the political experience of their elders, they were still novices. Sasuke displayed broodiness and arrogance, but nevertheless was relatively able in responding to social cues. Whether he truly understood or felt them was another matter.

Itachi on the other hand, Mikoto's eldest was a social terror. It was his understanding of powerful presentation through posture and speech that allowed him as much leeway as he had. That was why when he walked in behind Sakura, only to stand beside her, that the Uchiha matriarch felt surprise. Standing behind her could easily be brushed aside as simple manners and practicality. He was watching her, a stranger in their home. Instead, by positioning himself alongside her, it signalled they were equals. It told everybody in the room, even dense but hokage-raised Naruto, that Itachi was supporting her.

This was a rare occasion, one that often appeared during moments Fugaku reprimanded Sasuke whereby Itachi would be his brother's support. It was incredibly strange to see a complete unknown bring forth Itachi's well-hidden protective instinct.

She catalogued the girl through peripheral vision as she spoke to her. Her posture was wilted, chin tilted inward, and thumbs picking at her fingers. She walked fluidly despite her timid stance. At second glance, through an observant eye, she rolled her foot from heel to toe, shifting her weight through her body as if a tune unheard by anyone else flowed through her body. She walked unlike your average kunoichi, without confidence, her head swaying slightly left and right, as if her whole body seemed pulled along like a leaf in the wind.

The bright, fresh pink made her look younger and more diminutive than her age, and she responded to her questions almost unsurely. Or the better word would be distrustfully. Then, Mikoto wondered, why did she seem at ease with least approachable son?

Upon entering the house, while it was clear she sought encouragement from her teammates, she had shifted her weight, leaning toward Itachi as the strategically placed ornaments and minor disruptors throughout the entrance discomfited her.

The young girl dutifully sliced the vegetables Mikoto handed her, chopping quickly and efficiently, belying experience in the kitchen. Was she from a civilian family? She lacked the training most clan children went through, but maintained enough clarity that Mikoto wondered if she simply came from a very small, obscure clan. Indeed her back had not once relaxed in Mikoto's presence despite her lighthearted, aimless conversation, never letting anything about herself truly slip.

Thus, the matriarch decided to use a more direct approach.

"Sakura-chan, you seem quite good in the kitchen. I could only wish Sasuke were as practiced as you, do you help your mother in the kitchen often?"

* * *

The pinkette panicked. Up until now Mikoto had asked questions she could avoid answering with a clever twist of her tongue.

"I hope you like fish Sakura."

"Oh I'm not too picky Mikoto-san, Sasuke often has an enviable bento. I am very thankful to taste your cooking tonight."

"How was the academy? Did you always want to be a ninja?"

"I can't quite remember when I decided, it feels like I've always been on this path. School was an experience, I hope my foundation will take me further."

It was all bullshit. The kind of glib she spun when she bumped into academy student parents in the hallways and didn't want to give anything about herself away. The slightest thing could be used against her and she sought to avoid the kind of incidents vicious girls like Ami would only create. Besides Ino and now the two Uchihas, she had never given away the fact that she was an orphan. No one however, knew about the conditions she lived in, that no one knew her parents, that she was the kind of unknown that Konoha would never admit they were wary of.

Then the matriarch asked her **that** question. The kind that made her stiff.

But she could not lie. Shinobi always knew when she lied.

* * *

"Ah.. no... She... does not exist."

Orphan?

"Then do you live with your father? You couldn't have been living by yourself before you were a genin?"

Before the visibly flustered girl could reply, Itachi appeared and whisked her away on the pretense her teammates wished to speak with her.

Mikoto tilted her head to the side.

Well if her most cautious and dear son was so willing to treat the girl kindly, perhaps she could let up too.

* * *

It felt as though her heart would pound through her chest.

She didn't know what she might do if the disgust-filled, pitying gaze that came with the knowledge of her orphanhood filled the room. Not to mention she didn't want her place on Uchiha Sasuke's team questioned by the most powerful clan in Konoha.

She turned to him, and in a small voice said, "Thank you, I really appreciate it."

But things couldn't stay smooth.

Naruto had to open his big mouth.

She had counted on the knuckleheaded blonde to read the situation and keep her out of the limelight. What was it and his relationship with the Hokage that allowed him such blindness, such recklessness?

They had been conversing lightly, most of which were between Naruto and Mikoto-san, where Sasuke occasionally grunted. The Uchiha family was obviously one of few words, but it didn't bother her too much. That is until the topic of team dynamics came up.

"Do the three of you work well together? Genin teams often find themselves imbalanced," And she couldn't help but feel the questioned was directed at her even though Mikoto had addressed it to the three of them.

"Aa."

She nodded her head, "Hai Mikoto-sama."

But Naruto...

"Maa maa Mikoto-san! Don't underestimate us! We're the best genin team in all of Konoha!"

The Uchiha matriarch smiled at him amusedly, "I have no doubt Naruto-kun."

"Yeah yeah! Me and Sasuke are clearly the best genin around," She winced at his obvious grammar problems, "And Sakura is like, the smartest and prettiest girl ever!"

Then, Naruto realized what he said and twin spots of red pooled in his cheeks. But he scratched his head and laughed.

"She really is! I mean, we're like friends and everything and Sakura and me go way back," There it was again, sharing more of her than he needed to, "Like, she would tutor me and stuff and help me study even though she didn't need to."

It was like a disaster she couldn't help but watch. And he was on a roll.

"She already had the highest scores! Man Sasuke was always so mad whenever Sakura beat him. Not that he ever got ahead of her."

Now the room fell silent, and all attention was focused on her. Fugaku-sama and Mikoto-sama's surprised gazes fell onto her and they even seemed a little accusing. After what seemed like forever, Fugaku spoke, bolstering the awkwardness in the room.

"You're the student who received higher marks than Sasuke." And he emphasized the 'you're', eyes eying her critically and far more intensely than he had earlier. Now more than ever he would question her background. She could see where he was coming from, she wouldn't like it either if she were the head of a clan as prestigious as the Uchihas and that her son lost out to a girl with nothing to her. "You must have studied much harder than my son."

She cringed at the comparison in his voice and felt a little bad for Sasuke. She hadn't known how hard his father was on him. Then again he might not want a girl like her showing up his son, no matter how slight. In fact, she would probably want to make sure she wasn't on his team. She began to panic, what if Sasuke's parents really disapproved of her and wanted her away from Team 7? Would she have to find another genin team? No way, that wasn't possible, she was meant to be on this team. Logic dictated as much. But... the Uchiha clan...

Before she could frazzle herself any further, Itachi, yet again disproving rumours of his stoicism, spoke, "Sakura-san has the gift of intelligence, few without such a blessing can compare."

The way he said it, so full of conviction, caused her to blush and she ducked her head further down. On the one hand, it was wonderful to be praised, the rarely seen and never heard part of her soaked up the attention. It fulfilled the part of her that longed to be acknowledged. At the same time, she was more than aware that staying hidden in the shadows and hiding her talents was necessary when it came to dealing with clan-borns.

As if to make up for her earlier interrogation, Mikoto agreed with Itachi, "That is true. No matter how hard one studies, if you're gifted, you're gifted ne?"

* * *

The rest of dinner continued steadily after that. Naruto kept rambling, unaware of the previous troublesome situation he had created. They finished the night with hot tea and matcha rolls, the delicious work of Mikoto and several other clan ladies.

Itachi and Sasuke accompanied them to the gates of the Uchiha compound. Naruto headed off first without any form of socially accepted goodbye, punching Sasuke in the shoulder instead and declaring the 'teme better be ready tomorrow!' instead. For a moment, she felt a tingle along the back of her neck, and sought out it's source. Pale blue lines of energy shone faintly some distance away, but she could not sense chakra. She nodded at Sasuke who grunted in response and walked in. However, Itachi lingered.

"Nii-san."

He turned toward Sasuke and murmured, "I will walk Sakura-san back. It is late."

Sasuke and Sakura mirrored each others reactions, furrowing their brows. While Sasuke inclined his head and walked back into the house, Sakura waved her hands semi-frantically, "Itachi-san it is unnecessary, I can walk back on my own-" only to find him walking ahead of her and away from the compound.

Muttering under her breath about stubborn, annoying, intimidating! Uchiha men, she hurried after him, determined to convince him it was totally unnecessary. He stayed frustratingly quiet. After some distance between the compound and them, he finally responded.

"It is dangerous to walk back alone, at night, to one of Konoha's orphanages," She inhaled, she had nearly forgotten that he knew her secret after all, "Any of them."

"Then what about Naruto-kun?"

"Did you not sense a presence?" He murmured, having noticed how sensitive she was to presences. While he was not supposed to give it away, if she could sense ANBU while they partially shrouded their chakra, he would not be disclosing any secrets.

She nodded, "Aah... I see."

Itachi did not respond, but it made sense to her. He was close to the Hokage, and although she did not understand why he was so important, she accepted it. Others had special treatment for whatever reason there was. Whether it alluded to their past or something in their background, it was none of her business.

They walked back in a companionable silence, a nice change compared to Ino's stream of conversation or Naruto's typical outbursts.

Since her return from wave, she had been increasingly sensitive to energy and chakra. She couldn't quite differentiate the both based on just sense without sight or smell, but she found herself able to tune in to the fluctuations in one's energy and chakra. When Naruto screamed in frustration, his chakra roiled whilst his energy told her how much force he was about to use, whether he was truly angry or working himself up unnecessarily. Of course, this was all at some level of gauge and if she concentrated enough, she could ignore it. However walking next to Itachi was a new experience. Perhaps it was because she trusted him on some level, but she felt oddly connected to him.

His aura was strong and was almost palpable. His energy, as it washed over her as he moved, reminded her of cool rain on a cloudy day while his chakra smelled like pine leaves after a storm. She was so in tune with his energy for no reason that, when his expression changed minutely, his shoulder tensed virtually invisibly, she noticed.

She hadn't meant to notice, and she certainly had not planned for him to notice that she noticed. But both stared at each other for a second before continuing.

Then she realized they were within the rundown section of Konoha, taking a shortcut through the abandoned grounds typically used as a marketplace. If she were to choose a word for the feeling he was radiating, she would have used perturbed or disturbed. He was tense and uncomfortable, and she would have read him as unwilling to be there if his current emotion hadn't been so obvious.

Itachi was mildly surprised when she had caught onto his expression. Few were capable of discerning his change in emotion or involuntary expression. Yet he could not help the foreign feeling of upset and surprise in his system when she led him down an ill-maintained, worn part of Konoha. He could feel the presence of several other individuals, weak in chakra levels but waiting for prey. No doubt staying in place only because he was with her.

They continued walking until, before they reached an intersection, she tensed and whispered to Itachi , "Just follow me okay?"

He nodded.

In moments, she had suppressed her chakra and leapt off into the air, keeping to extremely small and winding passages many would find themselves confused by. After multiple twists and turns, they arrived at the edge of a forest. She ran through it, keeping to the tops before making a wide turn. Finally, after ghosting past several maze like suburban structures, they arrived at the orphanage. He then realized they had taken a very long route, going around parts of a remote forest and out, making multiple circles around the traditional structure before they finally reached.

When they landed, she explained herself.

"They've been waiting for me lately, but they don't know how to get here so I have to make sure they don't figure it out in the future. Oba-sama is old and although we don't have much, I don't want them to bully her."

She thanked him and bowed shallowly. As she was about to turn, he spoke. "Sakura-san..."

"Hmm?"

"You are welcome to use our training grounds anytime you wish." Her face turned a shade of red as she realized the implications of his words, but before she could stammer out an apology, he continued, "You appear to be a sensor type, or at minimum proficient with chakra. Practice will benefit you."

Without waiting for a response, he gestured for her to enter.

Shellshocked that the Uchiha Itachi, **The Uchiha Itachi** had just complimented her, she entered the orphanage on auto-pilot, only vaguely aware that he left after the door closed.

Did that mean she had potential?

* * *

AND THERE WE GO!

I got this up quickly because the last chapter took so long.

Hope you guys enjoyed this interaction! Obviously Itachi is just a touch OCC, but I wonder what he would be like when he feels protective of someone, particularly an underdog like Sakura. So there we go, she is a SENSOR TYPE! That means she can read signatures, tell them apart stuff like that. HOWEVER, in case you didn't notice, she can read energy as well. We're talking about lifeforce here. So even if a shinobi suppresses their chakra, the idea is that with practice, she can sense their lifeforce too.

Any guesses as to why Itachi and Sakura are so attuned to each other?

Do give me some ideas as to how Itachi will find out Sakura's secret. I'd love to know what situations you guys can think of. I don't frame my fanfictions or plot it out too much, I just write ideas down whenever and let it build itself organically so I might plan something, but something totally different could happen you feel?

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, I love hearing from you guys!


	10. Exploration

Title: Oyogu

Summary: "You are a part of the ocean's secrets Sakura..." When you're part mythical creature and part shinobi, the secrets you hide more than double. Yet when times become turbulent, Sakura finds herself trusting in a blank-faced, stoic ANBU captain every significant step of the way, much to her team's consternation.

Pairing: ItaSaku (later)

Author's note: Hi all, I wanted to clear up a comment regarding Mikoto's statement. I looked back at what I wrote and realize what I wanted to convey didn't quite come through. To anyone that was curious, first I'm trying to place Sakura's intelligence at a level beyond what simply studying can afford, she's just not been in the situation where that can be displayed. Second, Mikoto is trying to protect Sasuke. Think about it, his dad is headstrong and anything beyond what Sasuke can control will be used against him by his father ie. why isn't he doing better. That's all, enjoy!

* * *

Sakura filled the large wooden tub with water, her body thrumming in a strange mix of anticipation and nervousness. Itachi's comment had lingered long after he left and she had forcefully sat still, waiting for Oba-sama's telltale snores before creeping to the shared bathroom.

 _"You appear to be a sensor type, or at minimum proficient with chakra. Practice will benefit you."_

His single statement validated everything, from the moment she engaged Zabuza's clone with a haphazard plan thrown together to the impromptu substitution jutsu on Tazuna, fully prepared to exchange her life for his. She took a risk on an analysis she made on her own, used logic and hope to face someone out of her league, a worthwhile action but one that went unnoticed by her teammates.

She had done well and despite Itachi-san's obvious lack of presence during the mission, he had praised her on the one thing that secretly niggled her consciousness at the back of her mind: That she was good enough, that she wasn't just weak and useless.

His words spread warmth through her chest and evoked determination within her. If one of the most prodigious shinobi of Konoha could tell her that, then why the hell wasn't she spending every waking moment training, tapping on the potential he saw within her? Though the night was young, she, for all her eagerness, didn't have the first inkling of where to start.

Until she remembered what Akage-san had told her.

With running water in the background, splashing the base of the tub as it filled, she cupped both palms against her solar plexus. Yang and yin. Her physical body, her chakra, were of yang energy, fed by the sun's rays and warmth. Meanwhile, the less human side within her was of yin energy, connected with the moon and tides. Without Akage-san telling her, she would have felt unstable, out of control. But now, she had an idea; preventing whatever triggered her transformation from overtaking her body and by effect, the toll of unwanted change on her body. Essentially, she needed to merge two opposite ends of the nature spectrum together. Fire and water, yin and yang.

Which was so easy.

Not.

While manipulating chakra came naturally, she had come to realize that her life force was a separate energy, connected to chakra but was not in fact the same. It was an energy that could never be extinguished unless the person was killed. It was this energy she supposed, that needed to interact with the yin side of her. On her mental list of things to do was to meditate, but first she figured she needed to understand the process her body went through when she transformed. If not, how on earth would she meld the two energies together?

She held herself against the tub as she dipped a toe into the water, goosebumps breaking out onto her skin as the cold water lapped against her ankle. Suddenly, her foot gave way and she dropped into the tub. Emerald eyes widened as she stifled a shriek, landing heavily onto the base of the tub, knocking her skull and sides against the wooden edges. Groaning, she lay limbs askew for the moment, just grateful she hadn't landed lower bits first. After a moment, she opened her eyes ready to inspect her legs for any change only to realize she no longer had two separate limbs. Instead, she now had the figure of a mythical serpentine creature. Curious, she wiggled her toes and bit her knuckle to quell the laughter bubbling up when her fins paralleled the movement.

The tail, _her tail_ , was not much longer than her legs, hanging over the edge of the too-small wooden tub. However, she could feel the ends of her tail splayed across the floor. She lifted her legs, pleased when the appendage moved easily, not requiring particularly difficult ab work. She was so engrossed in the fact that she had a _tail_ the idea of holding her legs still didn't occur to her. Unlike bone, tails were far more pliable unrestrained by joints that typically halted movement after a certain angle.

She realized with eyes widened her tail was continuing on its course and gaining in speed. The cartilage rounded in a way knees simply could not accommodate and she had little time to gasp before her tail fin slapped her in the face. She heaved a sigh, shoulders drooping even as the translucent, white caudal fin fell from her face and onto her neck.

So lesson number one, she needed some kind of awareness in this form. Alright, concentration was imperative for any shinobi. Maintaining an innate sense of one's body, what muscle groups were working and just how they were positioned was the difference in crucial seconds out on the battlefield. Daily, rigorous training and basic katas in the academy enforced at least some semblance of that within her. She began by trying to focus on her lower body, going back to earlier days in the academy where they practiced basic chakra control exercises. From the waist down, she felt normal. Her tail felt like a natural if not extremely flexible continuation of her body.

Slowly, she rolled her fin outward, the tips of the delicate caudal fin curling away from her face. While her tail was not much longer than her legs, her caudal fin was about a foot and a half. At its widest point, its pearly sheen was near transparent, allowing the dim lighting to shine through. Flecks of silver dotted her fin, gaining in size as they inched upward along her scales, followed by amoebic red and black shades. The shapes covered her tail in an almost symmetrical pattern, paralleling one another and fading upon reaching her hips. From there, the silver flecks lost size, graduating upward until beige scales took over. Starting from mid-upper thigh, a set of translucent fins tipped with silver curved up along her hips and ended at the lower points of her back. They came together to form a fin that ran along her spine, stopping right below her shoulder blades.

Now that she had examined her tail, she wondered at her transformation. Each time she shifted between forms, it was by surprise. Most perplexing of all, she could still inhale air with ease, unlike the previous occasion. She formed a bunshin and instructed it:

"When I come out of the water, catch me. Okay?"

She straightened her tail and grunting a little, used it to raise herself out of the water. The moment her hips left the liquid, her physique became humanoid. In less than a few seconds, the tips of her fins had tingled, the sensation rushing along her tail all too soon before she suddenly shifted. Her clone caught her legs before she stumbled and settle her firmly on the rim of the rub. Making sure she was stable, she lowered her feet slowly into the water, watching in fascination as her skin seemed to first fuse together, then sprout scales as her toes extended outward.

By the time the sun rose, she found herself slumped in the tub with purple smudges under her eyes. After spending the night re-entering the tub over and over, she had finally figured it out. The tingle was not just a sensation, it was literally her transforming at a cellular level. It also acted as a signal, telling her body she was in water and needed a more efficient form suitable for the environment she was in. Water, after her awakening at Wave, was now an instinctual trigger that needed suppressing. Then, the tingling would slow down, allowing her to follow her transformation through sense and sight. Her next goal was to draw inward and meditate, to focus on both her chakra and this new energy.

* * *

Sakura broke into a run as she braided her long hair, speeding in a mad dash until she saw the bridge, her teammates, and no sensei.

Breathing out, she landed, kicking up dust and the two boys' attention just as Kakashi-sensei arrived.

After a few laps and calisthenics, Naruto and Sasuke were paired off as usual with adjusted guidelines -no ninjutsu, taijutsu only- and for the first time, Kakashi-sensei made to focus on her.

She followed him to a clearing some distance from the duo and watched him hesitantly, eyes pinned to the back of his flak jacket. Without any warning, he spun around with a kunai in his hand, "React, don't respond," and his visible eye narrowed.

What?

WHAT!?

Instinctively, she pumped chakra to her feet and leapt backward, substituting herself with a log mid-jump. She didn't allow herself to calculate what was happening, fingers falling into a single hand-seal before his sudden appearance before her forced her to abandon any motion and just _push_ the chakra outward.

Kakashi observed the flustered kunoichi as he pushed off the ground and toward her direction. Two clones flickered into existence without a 'poof' or smoke, signs of additional chakra residue. She executed another substitution, forgoing hand seals yet again. His intention was to push her. To see what happened with her chakra when she stopped thinking about what to do. Clearly the mission at Wave had 'inspired' her, but now that she had the ability, what would really happen when she let go?

As it was, she had executed a substitution partway through a jump, without hand seals, and stopped halfway through another set of seals whilst completing the jutsu. He dodged the clones with ease, forcefully dispelling them and with a sudden burst of speed, cornered Sakura.

Sakura moved backward slowly, a part of her painfully aware Kakashi-sensei was going at an extremely slow speed, another part of her freaking out because she was dodging his chops and open-palmed strikes by mere margins and close combat was just not her strength. She noted a tree behind her and as they advanced toward it, gathered chakra in her foot without giving it much thought until her back was maybe several inches from it. She threw herself leftwards, avoiding a blow and threw herself backward,-the back of her mind was Sasuke's overpowered first try at tree-climbing- SLAMMING her foot into the trunk of the tree. Her chakra splintered a chunk of the wood from under her foot, sending a projectile toward Kakashi-sensei.

Her foot throbbed as she landed but he was not finished. He sped towards her, directing her backward until her feet touched water. Panicking, her chakra surged into the soles of her feet, she could **not** transform in front of her sensei! She skidded on the surface, but maintained her balance, dodging shuriken after shuriken he threw at her.

"Use your feet to catch the shuriken and keep them afloat. I don't want to buy new ones."

Then why was he throwing shuriken at her? There were leaves all around them for crying out loud! But her thoughts were cut short as a sharp edge nicked her arm. Cursing, she enhanced her speed with chakra, aware that she had to work to stay afloat, and chased after the shuriken. She leapt in the air, trying to kick it off it's course but bumped her shin against it instead. It dropped to the water and she watched in horror as it sunk and Kakashi launched another one at her in what seemed to be retaliation.

How was she supposed to keep it afloat?

She ducked to the side as a grey disc whizzed past her, stretching one foot out and knocking the weapon out of its path, and then rotated her ankle in a U shape in an attempt to catch it with the flat of her foot.

Success, it tilted to one side but didn't fall to the stream.

Kakashi's single eye curved into a half-moon, "Good job, keep going."

Her mind raced, she had one foot left, and her sensei could clearly see that, so surely he meant something else? As he threw the next shuriken at her, she kicked the one balanced on her foot upward, coating it with chakra, and spun with one leg extended. Her chakra glazed across her skin like a film, sticking the next shuriken to her toe with ease. She transferred it to the stream, keeping her chakra layered over the weapons' surface so it would float.

Finally, when she was visibly lagging and the shuriken were no longer staying afloat and the sounds of battle from her teammate's direction had all but disappeared, Kakashi-sensei stopped.

"Pick them up," was all that left his mouth, then he left.

She crouched on the grass, dipping her hands into the water to gather the shuriken. The tingling started immediately, from her fingertips to her elbows, forming fins and small scales along the submerged skin. She freaked out and pulled her hands from the water, turning around to make sure no one had seen her. Sakura bit her lip, she couldn't allow a mistake like that to happen again. Not with her annoyingly perceptive team so close by. What to do?

Tentatively, she placed a palm on the surface of the water, coating it with chakra. As expected, she encountered resistance as the chakra filled up the holes between the molecules. She guided her chakra past the first layer of water, pushing it deeper and deeper, filling up the spaces beneath the shuriken instead, pushing the pieces of metal towards her palm.

She joined him beneath a tree after collecting the scattered tools, noting her teammates were now fighting long-range, using ninjutsu instead of taijutsu. Their stamina was impressive, she quietly marveled to herself, and allowed herself a moment of envy.

"Perhaps you have realized this Sakura," He spoke as he placed the book down, "but you have impressive chakra control."

She looked at him, eyes wide and unblinking, and he almost chuckled at the undiluted hope in them. "The earlier exercise is deceptively easy, as you realized, and requires a balance of agility, flexibility, chakra control, and reflexes."

He paused for some time, thinking of what he had to say to her.

"But you need to hone your skills on your own. While I am your sensei, your training cannot consist only of your time with me." She nodded, knowing as much. "I can give you guidance, but think of me as an exam, I cannot help you improve what you don't already know."

Wait what?

Her chest constricted and she felt the urge to yell at him, but she stayed quiet. Although she had already recognized he couldn't give her personalized training for fear she would give her secret away, she had hoped that he would train her. Especially after it seemed like he was finally focusing on her. She understood him though, why would a sensei want to give the deadweight on his team extra attention when he had two talented students who didn't need all that basic work. For all that Naruto and Sasuke wanted to learn cool jutsu, a teacher would want to teach exciting, new things.

She felt her head bob up and down, mindlessly listening to what he was saying, not really paying attention. After all, it was more or less what she had figured out for herself.

* * *

Training ended and as they split apart, she found herself wandering off to the unofficial Uchiha grounds, Itachi's toneless yet welcoming words at the back of her mind.

However when she arrived, she didn't know what to do.

It was perhaps an hour later that Itachi and Shisui found her stretching while positioned on a stream. Shisui stared as she descended into a full side split, each leg extended fully in front and behind her. His eyebrows rose when she reached behind and gripped her ankle, pulling her foot forward. Flexibility was incredibly important in the shinobi world, integral in executing most lower body movements. Most shinobi could do a full split, but not many could execute it with such limberness.

She had sensed their presence the moment they arrived on the outskirts of the training grounds. Before they crossed past the trees shielding them from her gaze, she called out to them, "Konichiwa Itachi-san, Uchiha-san."

Shisui did not fail to notice the fact that she had addressed his cousin by his first name, or that she had identified them based on their chakra signature. He looked toward his cousin, an intrigued look on his face, questioning Itachi but the man only walked forward, nodding his head in response to the kunoichi.

* * *

Hatake Kakashi sat in the corner of an old tea house, reading his dirty novel. Or rather it was placed at the assumed reading height, his fingers periodically flipping the pages as his thoughts wandered toward the pinkette.

Had he done the right thing? His goal was to foster a sense of competitiveness and self-motivation in her, but did she misunderstand? She had left the training grounds with her eyes on the ground, looking so miserable Sasuke had commented on it. Yet he wanted to see what she would do with her emotions.

After all the chuunin exams were due in a few months.

* * *

Hey guys, thank you putting up with my late updates, meh grammar and lackluster vocabulary. It's been a rough few weeks. Summer break is here and I think I've reached the point where I don't know what day it is, just whether I'm eating Maccas or pizza. You feel? Anyway, I'm going to increase the pace by chapter 12 or 13, so you guys will have the little training montage we all love that comes with the chuunin exams.

I hope you guys understand Kakashi's motivations. Even though Sakura knows what she wants, Kakashi isn't aware of that yet and thinks she's still a relatively unmotivated if talented genin.


	11. Unguarded

Title: Oyogu

Summary: "You are a part of the ocean's secrets Sakura..." When you're part mythical creature and part shinobi, the secrets you hide more than double. Yet when times become turbulent, Sakura finds herself trusting in a blank-faced, stoic ANBU captain every significant step of the way, much to her team's consternation.

Pairing: ItaSaku (later)

* * *

"Ne Sakura-chan, why did you become a shinobi?"

His tone was warm, and his body language not in the least hostile, yet she couldn't help but draw into herself as his question took her by surprise. Though a common question by nature, it was one that gave her difficulty. Few people cared about her motivations or her life in general, and the need to stay guarded always-always-always! took over. Even when she had the opportunity to be honest with her teammates, people who were supposed to be her family.

 _"Ah... I'm Haruno Sakura..." My likes? I like to read a lot, "I like teacakes, I dislike..." Bullies, "Early mornings and my dream..." Was she allowed to dream though? Was someone like her allowed to dream about strength, family, or love? "I guess my dream is to surpass my best friend."_

She had chuckled after, having always viewed Ino has the kind of kunoichi she should be. But it was a dream because at the time, she had found it a little hopeless. But as much as the memories and self-discouragement tried to take over, Shisui's question cut through the bullshit of the last few years; from the fear at dinner with the Uchihas, to the desire for equal footing in her team, and even the utter despair over the cards life had dealt her.

In that un-snooty voice of his was a quality that took her back to a moment in time; she was pressed against a dirty brick wall, piles of garbage in front of her and the constant urge to _protect_ herself cloaking her presence. Her eyes took in the sheer brightness of Konoha's bustling marketplace located in a wealthy civilian district. Residents dressed in colorful kimonos making their way through beautiful sights and scents. It was another world, where women had the leisure to paint their lips red and choose sparkling brocade, where children could point and take and eat all that they wanted. The scene, watched from a crack between two buildings kept her dreaming. Wishing for a better life. Today, it was solace. Her fist in her mouth and eyes red-rimmed from all the sobbing of the day because children with no one and were vicious. They took as much as they could and that included power, as little Sakura was finally learning. A sudden shriek drew her attention and all she saw was a dark blur, fleeting and suddenly solid as a man in black took form with a thief in his hands. As generic as his clothes were, -just a nobody- this man instilled the first feelings of _fight_ in Sakura. He made it look so easy. She learned that it wasn't. Each time she fought back she found herself sobbing louder, the punches hitting harder. But something changed. It was very minute, but as she lay still and often prayed for it to be over, she would remember him. As oba-sama iced a swollen forehead or bandaged a nasty scrape, she would see his ordinary, masked face.

So all she wanted was revenge. To never be helpless again.

But before she could take her baby steps to ninjahood she met Naruto. A blonde boy about her height standing still, crying, as kids and adults alike sneered. Dirt and rocks were scattered across his body, making her wince because she _knew_ those had to hurt. But something in her clenched too because why wasn't her fighting back? He was a boy! Boys were strong! For the first time, she wasn't okay with staying still and waiting for it to be over.

She hated that all she could think of was the masked man, that she couldn't stop the mean people. She wanted to fight. Fight for someone that wasn't her. Fight so that he would never have to feel so weak and unimportant.

"Well... I..." She pursed her lips, wondering how honest she could be. Could she tell them she learned at a young age that there were two kinds of people, the weak and the strong? That the only world she was decided by the strong? She looked up at the two shinobi before her, one of them with a reputation even genin like her knew, the other from a clan known for their power and decided on the truth in an instant. If she was going to seek help, she needed honesty.

"I wanted to be strong." She said, and then added with a lighthearted smile, "And Naruto-kun asked me to join." 'And s _o that I can protect the weak.'_

Shisui nodded, "Sakura-chan," He paused for a moment, as if remembering something "are you a sensor type?"

If Itachi and Sakura had been the type, they would have shown an outward display of exasperation. As it was, Inner Sakura was palming her forehead.

"Shisui-san... what exactly is a sensor type? You're the second person who has implied I may be one."

"Oh? Who else has noticed your fantastic~ chakra control?"

She ducked her head as her face flushed, but Shisui caught eyes flickering toward Itachi. O-ho~ so Itachi-chan had told her so? A quick glance at his cousin yielded no answers but the pinkette was more than obvious.

"Just... someone I know." She muttered.

"Ahh.. just someone you know..." He repeated, smacking his lips together in an exaggerated fashion while Itachi continued to avoid eye contact with him, "Well a sensor is basically someone who is really awesome at well... sensing chakra."

Sakura tilted her head to the side, "Can't all shinobi do that?"

"Well..."

"What Shisui means to say is," Itachi said, interrupting his cousin, "Few ninja are able to recognize a person based on their chakra signature-"

"Yeah! And I'll bet you have really good control too!" Shisui jumped in, forcing Sakura to focus back on him "Well most sensors do and you don't have to be a sensor to have great control but-"

"You are innately skilled."

Did they realize they tended to finish each others' sentences? It was almost.. kind of cute.

"Ano.. Shisui-san.." She said slowly, "Itachi-san... so... I mean... what are you guys good at?"

It was a strange request. Mainly because most genin had at least some semi-exaggerated idea of The Uchiha Itachi's abilities, while Shisui himself, while not well-known amongst genin, had a reputation that preceded him as Shunshin no Shisui.

Realizing they both weren't speaking and worried she had crossed some kind of line, Sakura waved her hands in front of her frantically, "You guys don't have to tell me... I was just wondering cause I'm only good at chakra control but I don't even know how to train it... I was going to ask if you would know..." She muttered the last sentence, more than a little paranoid of rejection.

"Ahh" He said, understanding her, "Well I'm kind of well-known around Konoha for my really speedy shunshin while big bad 'tachi-chan here is just good at everything. Like, everything."

 _'Shunshin?'_

Now where had she heard of that before?

"What is Shunshin?"

He stood up dramatically, "Well I'm glad you asked Sakura-chan." He placed both palms together in a seal, "Basically it's where you do this," vanished before her eyes, appeared under a crop of trees several meters away before blurring suddenly, "really fast!" and appearing behind her.

She looked at him in amazement, and then noted the pale blue, almost non-existent trail of chakra -was it chakra? that traced all of Shisui's movements. When she pointed it out, he just laughed and said, "You're definitely a chakra-type."

"So... so would you know how I can improve on that? I'm not any good on a lot of things, but I'd like to be really good at this."

Shisui nudged his younger cousin while planning how he might set them up together, "Well 'Tachi-chan here should be able to help you. Shunshin might need really good control to do it that quickly, but this guy's control is better than mine in general so... you guys should have a good talk about it..."

He made an obvious excuse, saying Mikoto-sama needed him or Sasuke-chan had asked for some help, before high-tailing it out of the area. Sakura was probably a bit young for Itachi... but his stoic cousin had finally said more than two sentences to a female other than Mikoto-sama, not to mention, dare he say it, his tone lacked its usual curtness that seemed to drive females away.

"Itachi-san..."

"Hm?"

"So you're good at a lot of things huh?"

He inclined his head.

"Hmm... Maa must be nice..." She said under her breath, not intending for him to hear her.

He then surprised her by saying, "Genjutsu was... a challenge for me."

Nani?

"What?"

Did he just admit he wasn't good at something?

"ReallY?"

He nodded.

"Ne.. Itachi-san... so... how do I improve on chakra control."

"Sakura-san.." He started, "On average how much does a ninja's natural rate of control improve by?"

Hmm. "Well.. it varies by how gifted the ninja is... and I guess how aware they are of their chakra coils?"

He didn't stop her so she continued, "Most shinobi have a natural control range around sixty to eighty percent, while you do have some special cases like Naruto-kun who can execute complex jutsu while failing at basic Kawarimi or bunshin, they are typically successful and can do a lot of damage with that level of control. It is already pretty good. Some really high-ranking shinobi have chakra control in the ninetieth percentile, allowing them to use highly volatile jutsu. Meanwhile most kunoichi have a chakra control range of seventy to eighty-five percent... usually because they have smaller coils although that in itself is not a major contributor... it also depends how young they begin practicing manipulating chakra..."

She was on a roll now, "However a ninja can begin at a relatively low level of chakra control and be able to push their percentile range up to the ninetieth percentile... either through meditation or constant practice so I guess it is also a play on awareness of chakra..."

She sighed, "But does it really matter how good a person's chakra control is? At the end of the day a shinobi with amazing control is useless if they don't have the quantity for it, or the ability to do anything else. Ninjutsu is so important... as is genjutsu and taijutsu. The best shinobi are always those who can utilize all of this no?"

Before she could ramble further and bring her confidence to a lower level, he interjected, "But the difference between two shinobi of the same caliber, same type and strength, can be how they utilize their chakra. Greater control conserves more chakra. Greater awareness allows one to manipulate chakra more creatively. Most importantly mastering chakra means a ninja has mastered the very crux of their skills. It is as important to your spiritual body as basic kata is to your physical ability."

She wondered Sasuke was just melodramatic about how busy his brother was because for all that the broody Uchiha would complain that 'aniki' was busy, the longer-haired male seemed to spend quite some time with her at the training grounds. It was definitely more time she would spend with her teammates outside of training.

* * *

Sakura took a deep breath and centered her awareness onto the chakra within her body. With each inhale and exhale, she relaxed her body further, delving into the sensation of only her chakra coils. She noticed for the most part, her spiritual energy was evenly distributed save for a cluster within her belly, where it seemed the very core of her energy started and ended. She concentrated on the cluster, examining the hundreds and thousands of strands intertwined together, pulsing along the beat of her heart. Slowly, she did as Itachi advised. Instead of merely focusing on her coils, she began to tug at the strings that made up the cluster. She expelled chakra through her feet and hands in a steady stream, ensuring she was pulling chakra from her core not the rest of her coils.

As Itachi mentioned, she immediately felt her reserves drain. Most ninja, he had said, tended to expel as much chakra as they can to empty their reserves in an attempt to increase their capacity. Yet typically, it was not by much because they tended to drain their coils instead of their core. By draining and tugging at the energy of her core, she was almost forcing it to split. To repair itself, more strands would be created, thus increasing the quantity of chakra she housed.

* * *

Sakura bit her lip, trying her best to shift her weight. From her front split, she was arched backwards and trying to push herself into a standing position through articulating her foot. Her hands steadied her as her vision changed and the floorboards became the ceiling, chakra cycling through the weaker spots of her foot that threatened to drop her. Finally, she found herself in a wobbly standing split. As she tried supporting herself wholly on her single foot, she toppled to the side.

"Ugh" She groaned with a mouthful of hair. Every time!

Nevertheless after daily morning practice, her already flexible limbs had finally held the position for more than a few seconds.

She sped along the hill that shadowed the orphanage, making a game out of her running exercise, forcing herself to expand her senses lest she fall over in the darkness of the forest. By the time the sun's rays lit up the dusky sky, she had circled the small hill twice and had begun kicking a tree with as much speed as she could. Alternating between two minutes of all out speed and three minutes of slow, technique focused practice. With luck and time, her limberness would be combined with speed.

Right now however, as her tail flicked water into the air and she prayed the hill stayed remote -because who wanted to be seen bathing- the bright morning sun filtered through the green shade making for a gorgeous morning scenery. As her eyes unfocused, she closed her eyes and mimicked her nightly meditation. Breathing in and out. Instead of tugging at her chakra cluster however, she drew all attention onto her tail. Slowly, the tell-tale tingle appeared, pricking her hips and thighs until instead of scales, slightly tanned skin shimmered beneath the surface. As her legs appeared, she honed in on her chakra center, watching herself with interest as she noted the dimensional shift within her spiritual body. The first time she had done this, her chakra seemed to disappear altogether and in it's place was a central space without chakra. She freaked out before remembering that bodies without chakra still housed energy, albeit a different one.

Now however, the fear had abated and curiosity had taken its place. She shifted her yin-natured energy just so until instead of having disappeared altogether, it seemed to gather beside her chakra and yang energy. It's effect was a humanoid figure with separate limbs whilst fins adorned her arms, legs, and spine. Then, she pushed everything telling her her actions were unnatural, sunk underwater and took a controlled breath. The sides of her neck felt funny and her instincts were still screaming at her, but she no longer coughed or choked like a madwoman. In fact, with a great deal more practice, she would be able to switch forms with ease.

...

Her freshly washed hair dripped onto her shoulder as she made her way to the training grounds, a futile effort in staying clean. Next would either be more physical training intended on pushing the limits of her sweat glands, a spar she would lose early on, or a D-rank mission. Although Kakashi-sensei would focus on her every now and then, she would feel the tugs of envy when he casually called out adjustments to the boys' spars. Ordinarily, she would have felt undervalued and unwanted. However for the past two weeks, she had spent time after team training with Sasuke's older brother. Although he surprised her in the beginning, she found herself feeling less discouraged around the humbler brother who would offer valuable advice.

"Itachi-san, are you sure it only takes four minutes?"

He nodded. "It is the most intense form of stamina training whilst also being the shortest. You will expend all your energy doing basic strength exercises for twenty seconds, pause for ten, and repeat eight times."

"O-kay..."

"Then you will sprint one hundred meters three times, repeating the entire set five times in total. Once a week, you will sprints in the above format as well. "

"So this is in addition to doing laps everyday?"

"Running basic laps daily is not conducive if you have not fully built up your strength."

She nodded.

"Are you ready?"

She startled but hid it by tying a makeshift blindfold around her head and slid her feet into a defensive stance. Instantly, she felt three presences flare to life. As she had done at every session with him so far, she allowed a small amount of chakra to ripple across the ground, pulsing in gapped circumferences ten meters around her. Then, she formed a diamond with her palms, controlling her chakra so that only the smallest bubbles left her palm. After nights of practice, she had finally managed to keep the pure chakra globules hanging in the air a few feet from her. Although she didn't have many, she had enough in strategic enough points. The trickiest part however, as she had found each time Itachi's clones sparred with her, was moving the bubbles as she moved.

The clones ran toward her one by one. She sensed the first presence moving toward her, pinpointed it's direction and then it's exact position as a fist came into contact with her hovering chakra. She bent backward whilst straightening her elbow and shifted her weight onto her left foot, chakra kept her steady as she bent her knee and used the outstretched arm to spin herself as she felt a kick come for her. The other two clones attacked simultaneously. She ducked a blow aimed at her neck, kicked out behind her, and dropped to the ground, her hands curled in a hammer fist. Chakra filled her palms and she slammed the end of the fist into the ground. It shook and for all her effort, merely dented the surface but was enough to dispel a clone.

They continued until she had attacked ten of his clones and dispelled all of them.

"Your control has improved."

"Hai, and I think my reserves have increased too but... although I can expel chakra from my hands and use it to steady myself, I can't seem to completely protect myself with it while making myself stronger. I probably could have made a bigger dent but then this hand might be broken..."

She continued rambling, telling him about her flexibility exercises that morning and how easy it had been to inject her foot with chakra, so why was it so difficult with her hands? Considering she had known him for less than a month, she was surprisingly open. She had imagined herself as a lot more hesitant discussing her shortcomings with Sasuke's older brother of all people, but was surprisingly at ease with him.

Enough so that when they fell into a routine of eating onigiri after she sparred with his clones, it didn't feel entirely weird. Some days Shisui would join them, training with Itachi as she stared in amazement while she attempted to execute a jutsu the Shunshin expert would share. Other days, it was just her and the man who for all of his fearsome reputation, listened to her extraordinarily normal day to day, interjecting once in a while.

"The hands are more complex than the feet," he finally said as they left, replying to her earlier ramblings.

As they arrived at the orphanage and the sun faded from the sky, the strangest thing happened. Perhaps it was because he came to her rescue during the disastrous Uchiha dinner, or maybe because he would tell her very factual things out of the blue that reassured her.

"Read up on anatomy," or even because he paid her more attention than her sensei.

But for a second and only that second, she found the faint light on Uchiha Itachi's face rather pretty and finally -sortofkindof- understood Ino's obsession with Sasuke. The little flutter made her want to wonder 'was this a crush?' but she quashed it instantly, storing it deep in her mind because those feelings would only get in the way and she couldn't risk affecting this new found mentorship.

* * *

The _swish-swish_ of the wooden whisk filled the quiet space as the Uchiha matriarch eyed her eldest child. With the eye of an observant jounin-turned-mother, she catalogued her son from the dip of his head down to his crossed ankles. Even at rest within their home, his posture was nothing short of impeccable.

He left the house early each day as usual, taking on dangerous missions that might kill a lesser shinobi or training. As always, he returned home late, either having spent time on his own or avoiding the political machinations of the clan elders by 'hiding' with Shisui. In short, his time at home with the family was minimal. Tonight she had decided that enough was enough and she was going to have some quality time with her son whether he liked it or not. Not that he would reject her -she knew that deep down he would never deny her his time- but catching him free was simply impossible.

However, as little as she saw of her son, she knew something was up.

She walked to the table with the freshly mixed matcha tea and a plate of dango she made earlier that morning. She drizzled the sweet anko sauce over the mochiko. Mikoto picked the dango and with a smile on her face, handed it to her son. After chewing it slowly, he then did the same. It was a moment mother and son repeated sparingly over the years. Had it been any other family, she would have insisted he bite the dango off the stick as she held it, and he would have complied without reluctance, but they were Uchiha.

"Itachi," She spoke softly, "have you been well?"

"Aa" He replied, "I have."

They spoke quietly, not wanting to disturb the peace. As they did, she took a good look at her son, burdened by the village and his family.

In an unguarded state, despite the perfect posture ingrained in him, she caught the signs of fatigue in the curve of his neck and tension in his shoulders. His eyes were weighed down and the lines of his face were ever so deep. She knew the days were difficult on him, and the nights even more so. While he endured the spiteful words of jealous colleagues and loneliness he would not admit to during the day, at night Fugaku only focused on his duty to the clan. Worse so, he would criticise Sasuke with an icy bite and deepening his inferiority complex. While her son never reacted and only ate quietly, she saw the shift in his eyes and they way he focused on his dinner plate before he allowed his gaze to sharpen. Wherever it may be, her son could not be himself. There were only expectations. Lately though, his chin did not dip so lowly. Before her eyes at the very least, he was willing to slouch against the chair and take a deep breath, the corners of his mouth curling ever so slightly as he spoke to her. It was hardly anything, but she couldn't remember a time he seemed willing to visibly relax himself.

Her son didn't seem quite so sad.

* * *

AWW Sakura-chan has an itty-bitty crush on Itachi-saaaan~, and what is this? Does he feel the same way? JKJK guys. She is just... someone who lets him be who he wants to be. He doesn't have to be the perfect heir, he doesn't have to be the best big brother, and he doesn't have to be an ANBU op. He can just be Itachi, someone who is guiding her. And I bet you guys are wondering why she could splinter a tree with her foot but not even make a dent with her hands right? All will be revealed in due time! I hope I'm conveying Sakura's emotions and feelings well, as well as not overplaying her ability with chakra. I have no intentions of making her a genjutsu master, I'll be upfront, but I'll let you guys in on a secret.

She's meant to be a mermaid right. Although in mythical stuff they aren't the ones with the magic voice box, we're going along with that. Plus don't forget she's got the weird mermaid crap happening to her as well. So what are her skills exactly? Perfect chakra control, out of the box abilities, and a magical watery upbringing? What could all of this mean? Think carefully and do let me know. I love your comments!


End file.
